The man charged with attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his golf course in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this month pleaded not guilty in federal court Monday.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is charged with attempting to assassinate a major political candidate, assaulting a federal officer and three additional felony gun charges.

His public defenders entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in federal court in West Palm Beach. Routh, a convicted felon, was denied bail last week and remains in custody.

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Federal agents have collected a mountain of evidence implicating Routh, including a handwritten manifesto confessing to the assassination plot and offering money for someone else to finish “the job” if he failed.

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” said the manifesto, left with an acquaintance in North Carolina, according to a court filing by prosecutors. “I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.”

Routh is accused of stalking the Trump International Golf Course for weeks, then hiding in the bushes in what prosecutors called “a sniper position” along the sixth hole on Sunday, Sept. 15, when Mr. Trump was playing the course.

A Secret Service advance team spotted the muzzle of a rifle protruding from the tree line along the sixth hole and fired at Routh, who was seen by a witness fleeing the area. Federal agents recovered an SKS-style rifle in the bushes along with a backpack. Routh’s fingerprint was lifted from the rifle.

The gun was loaded with 11 rounds and had a round in the chamber.

Data recovered on his phone showed he searched driving routes to Mexico.

Routh also possessed a list of dates and venues where Mr. Trump had appeared or planned to appear.

During Routh’s bond hearing, prosecutors argued his goal “was to kill the former president of the United States,” and they said he could have succeeded if the Secret Service agent did not spot him.

The attempted assassination charge carries a sentence of up to life in prison. Routh faces a separate investigation and potential attempted murder charges by Florida prosecutors.

It was the second attempted assassination of Mr. Trump in two months. Mr. Trump was grazed by a would-be assassin’s bullet while appearing a July 13 rally in Butler, Pa. In that case, a Secret Service sharpshooter killed the gunman.

The Justice Department faced criticism for releasing Routh’s manifesto and its offer of a bounty for the killing of Mr. Trump.

“The letter calls on people to ‘finish the job’ of killing President Trump, attempts to rouse people in incendiary terms to do so, and offers $150,000 to anyone who succeeds. There was no apparent justification for releasing this information at this stage,” former Attorney General Bill Barr told Fox News Digital.