Alleged would-be Trump assassin releases jailhouse letter railing against ‘two-party system’

The man who allegedly tried to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump is once again speaking from behind bars.

In the letter, which he reportedly sent to Politico’s Ankush Khardori, Ryan Routh ranted about America’s political system, tied himself to Thomas Crooks, and enthusiastically denied affiliation with either major political party.

“I am unclear how we allowed ourselves to fall into just a two-party system but it infuriates me. My entire life has been plagued by D’s and R’s. It seems not long ago there was a push for the libertarian party and now a green party and maybe Truth party. But for some reason our leaders have not allowed any other party [to] be recognized in any race,” he explained in his ranting letter.

More from Politico:

Routh proceeded to criticize “the two ruling parties” and argued that “[w]ith our national debt swallowing us whole and bankruptcy imminent we may as well fix this problem balls out.” He appeared to call for full public campaign financing in order to “eliminate private donations” and also takes issue with “gridlock in Congress.”

“We all wonder why we end up with such flawed candidates,” Routh wrote, “when our system is designed to exclude most everyone.”

At one point in the letter, Routh explicitly disclaimed any affiliation with the Democratic Party. “A guard [in] Palm Beach asked jokingly if I was a democrat — I said, ‘NO — Independent — I vote for the best candidate.’”

Routh referred to himself multiple times as the “Trump Alleged Shooter,” perhaps to avoid an explicit confession, but at one point, he linked himself directly to Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was the first person who tried to assassinate Trump this year, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Crooks was killed on sight by a Secret Service sniper; Routh has been charged with the attempted assassination of Trump but has pleaded not guilty. Routh described them both, however, as being “ready to die for freedom and democracy.”

For good measure, Routh also mentioned that Americans should “demand that Israel stop their attacks and demand that all parties come to the table and find common ground.”

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