What we know about the 58-year-old suspect in Trump’s second ‘attempted assassination’

The 58-year-old once voted for Trump but later soured on him, and has tried to aid Ukraine in its war with Russia

Routh was arrested yesterday in Florida after allegedly attempting to shoot former U.S. president Donald Trump while he was golfing. The FBI said Trump was the target of “what appears to be an attempted assassination” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.

Monday’s hearing lasted about eight minutes, and the AP reports that Routh could face as much as 15 years in prison if convicted on the first charge, and up to five years for the second.

U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire on Sunday after seeing a person with a firearm near Trump’s club. No injuries were reported. Officials say the person fled in an SUV and was later apprehended by local law enforcement and identified. Here’s what to know about him.

Routh, Trump
Members of FBI are seen at the crime scene outside the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 16, 2024 following a shooting incident at former U.S. president Donald Trump’s golf course.Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA /AFP via Getty Images

He moved to Hawaii from North Caroline six years ago

The Associated Press reports that Routh, 58, lived in Greensboro, N.C. for most of his life before moving in 2018 to Kaaawa, Hawaii, where he and his son operated a company building sheds, according to an archived version of the webpage for the business.

He went to Kyiv in 2022

The Associated Press filmed Routh in April 2022 at a demonstration in Kyiv’s Independence Square, two months after Russia invaded Ukraine. A placard he was holding said: “We cannot tolerate corruption and evil for another 50+ years. End Russia for our kids.” He wore a blue vest with an American flag on the back while participating in the rally.

Ryan Wesley Routh
Ryan Wesley Routh takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022.Photo by Efrem Lukatsky /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Since then he has frequently posted on social media about the war in Ukraine and had a website where he sought to raise money and recruit volunteers to go to Kyiv to join the fight against the Russian invasion.

However, a representative officer of the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command told the AP that Routh has never served in the Ukrainian army, nor collaborated with the military in any capacity.

Oleksandr Shahuri said Routh has periodically contacted the group with what he called “nonsensical ideas,” adding, “His plans and ideas can best be described as delusional.”

“One-way ticket,” he said. “I’ll die here.”

He added that he had brought a bulletproof vest and helmet. Asked if he was prepared to kill, he said: “I will do that all day long,” adding, “But me killing two or three people would not change [the] course of [the] war. Encouraging thousands of people can change things.”

He said he planned to join protesters with the message: “Putin, here I am.” He calculated that if Russia bombed his protest site, it would be attacking a representation of the world’s communities, which he believed would provoke global action against Russia.

Further, he said: “We need thousands of civilians from every country arm-in-arm in the centre of Kyiv, saying: This is not right. If Putin is OK with killing Ukrainians, then he needs to kill people from other countries as well. He can start with me.”

He wrote a book urging Iran to kill Trump

The book describes Trump as a “fool” and “buffoon” for both the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots and the “tremendous blunder” of leaving the Iran nuclear deal.

Routh wrote that he once voted for Trump and must take part of the blame for the “child that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless.”

Routh
The house of Ryan Wesley Routh, the man arrested in connection with the apparent assassination attempt against former U.S. President Trump in his golf course is seen on September 15, 2024 in Kaaawa, a small town located on the windward side of the island of Oahu, Hawaii.Photo by EUGENE TANNER /AFP via Getty Images

His politics are not straightforward

Voter records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in person during the state’s Democratic primary in March.

Routh also made 19 small donations totaling $140 since 2019 to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates, according to federal campaign finance records.

In April he wrote on X: “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose,” in support of Joe Biden.

In his book he noted: “I get so tired of people asking me if I am a Democrat or Republican as I refuse to be put in a category.”

He already has a criminal record

The AP reports that Routh has a 2002 felony conviction for possessing a weapon of mass destruction, citing a newspaper story from the time that said the arrest followed a three-hour armed standoff with police at his roofing business.

Records also show Routh was convicted of a felony count of possession of stolen goods in 2010, as well as misdemeanours, including illegally carrying a concealed weapon, a hit-and-run, speeding, and driving with a revoked license. In each case, a judge sentenced him to either probation or a suspended sentence.

He spent nearly 12 hours on the golf course before fleeing

In legal filings complaint, FBI special agent Mark A. Thomas wrote that he learned from Routh’s mobile phone service provider that his device was around the tree line of Trump’s golf course for nearly 12 hours.

A phone registered to Routh “was located in the vicinity of the area along the tree line … 1.59am until approximate 1.31pm on September 15, 2024,” he wrote.

Ryan Wesley Routh
This handout image released Sept. 16 by the Martin County Sheriff’s Offfice shows Ryan Wesley Routh following his arrest in Martin County, Florida, on Sept. 15, 2024.Photo by HANDOUT /MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

His son has spoken to the media

Asked what he would tell his father if he could speak to him, Oran Routh said: “I know the discourse isn’t working, but we still need to stick to the discourse.”

“I don’t know what has happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion, because from the little I’ve heard it doesn’t sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violent,” he said.

With files from The Associated Press

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