Ryan Wesley Routh, alleged murderer The man who targeted former President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course has a history of anti-Trump rhetoric, a long criminal background and an obsession with Ukraine.
Details about the 58-year-old suspect are still emerging as authorities investigate the alleged attack on Trump — the second attempt in two months — When he was playing golf in West Palm Beach On Sunday afternoon.
Routh was from Hawaii Caught by a Secret Service Agent A police officer positioned just ahead of the 78-year-old former president spotted the barrel of an AK-style rifle protruding from among the bushes along the path — about 400 yards away.
Here's what we know so far about the accused gunman who is in custody:
A critic of Trump
Routh said Repeated sharp remarks against Trump He posted on social media about their perceived threats to democracy — which matches recent rhetoric from Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden.
In a post on X in April, Routh claimed Trump wanted to “turn Americans slaves against the master” and advised Biden, who was running for re-election at the time, should center his campaign around keeping “America democratic and free.”
“Democracy is on the ballot and we can't lose,” Routh wrote, echoing a theme commonly used by both Biden and Harris.
“We cannot afford to fail. The world is counting on us to show the way,” the suspect said.
After the assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in July, Routh used the X to encourage Biden and Harris to visit those injured by the former president — while still standing with the GOP presidential nominee.
“You should visit the victims of the Trump rally in the hospital and attend the funeral of the firemen who died; Trump would definitely never do that. Show the world what real leaders do,” Routh posted.
The suspect also tweeted about Trump in June 2020, saying he supported the Republican in 2016 but was disappointed with his tenure in the White House.
“I and the whole world hoped that President Trump would be different and better than the candidate but we were all very disappointed and it seems you are getting worse and heading towards a downfall; are you a retard? I will be glad when you are gone,” Routh wrote.
a self published book
Routh wrote a self-published book last year in which he expressed his hatred for Trump — and even urged Iran to assassinate Trump.
The book, which is available on Amazon with no publisher listed, is titled, “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: Democracy’s Fatal Flaw, World Abandonment, and Global Citizens—Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea, and the End of Humanity.”
Routh called the former president a “fool” and a “clown” for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots and his “tremendous blunder” of pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.
“You are free to assassinate Trump,” Routh wrote of Iran.
Routh said he voted for Trump in 2016, and added that he has to take the blame for the “kid we elected to be our next president, who turned out to be brainless.”
Relations with Ukraine
Routh has repeatedly expressed support for Ukraine in his book and in numerous social media posts.
He Visiting Kiev in the summer of 2022 He also had a website through which he tried to raise funds and recruit volunteers to join the fight against the Russian invaders of the country.
Footage published by the news outlet showed Routh at a small demonstration in Kiev's Independence Square in April 2022, waving a sign that read, “We cannot tolerate corruption and evil for the next 50+ years. End Russia for our children.”
In the clip, he wore a blue vest with an American flag on the back.
Ukrainian officials distanced themselves from Routh following his arrest, saying on Monday he had no links to them and warning that Russia would use his support for Ukraine for propaganda purposes.
Oleksandr Shahuriy of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command's foreign coordination department said Routh had never served in the Ukrainian army or worked with its forces.
Shahuri said, however, that Routh had periodically contacted the international forces in Ukraine and had “nonsensical ideas” that could be described as “delusional at best.”
Where does he live?
According to online records and LinkedIn, he spent most of his life in North Carolina, including Greensboro, and attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
Routh relocated to Kawa, Hawaii around 2018.
Routh and his sons operate a small construction business — Camp Box Honolulu — that primarily builds storage sheds and tiny homes, according to an archived version of the company’s website.
He once donated a structure to the homeless, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports.
“We’re all tired of seeing homeless people on the island with no place to go,” he told the outlet in 2019.
Trouble with the law
Records show that while living in Greensboro, Routh had several run-ins with the law Enforcement.
Online records show he was convicted of possessing a “weapon of mass destruction,” a machine gun, in 2002 after an hours-long standoff with police.
Though there is not much information on record about the case, News and records The story at the time said Routh was stopped during a traffic stop, grabbed a gun and barricaded himself inside a roofing shop.
In another incident, he was charged with other offenses, including hit-and-run, resisting arrest and a concealed weapons violation, according to records.
The documents also show Routh was convicted of a felony count of possession of stolen goods in 2010, as well as other misdemeanors, including illegally carrying a concealed weapon, hit-and-run, speeding and driving with a revoked license.
In each of these cases, Routh was sentenced to either probation or a suspended sentence — meaning he avoided going to jail.
family life
Routh is known to have at least two sons.
One of the sons, Oran Routh, told the Daily Mail that his father Hates Trump, like “every sane person does” — but claimed he is not a violent person.
“He’s my dad, and as far as I know, he just has a few traffic tickets,” Oran told the outlet.
“It’s crazy,” the son said of the allegations against his father. “I know my dad and love him, but this is nothing like him.
“He's not a violent person. He's a hard worker and a great father. He's a great person, a good guy and he's spent his whole life working.”
In a separate statement to CNN, Oran said, “I have no comment other than his character as a loving and caring father. … I do not know what happened in Florida, and I expect things have been blown way out of proportion.”
When contacted shortly after news of the assassination attempt broke, Routh's other son, Adam, who works at a Hawaii hardware store, said he had “no idea” but also said he did not believe his father would do such a thing.
political viewpoint
Voter records show Routh was registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012. He most recently voted in person during the state's Democratic Party primary in March 2024.
Routh has a history of supporting progressive causes online.
Federal campaign finance records show Routh has made 19 small political donations using his Hawaii address since 2019, totaling $140, to ActBlue — ActBlue is a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates.
But his more than 500 posts on X also show that his support for politicians ranges from the left to the right, and he has at various times supported politicians such as Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard, and Nikki Haley, as well as Trump.
In his book, Routh wrote, “I'm so tired of people asking me if I'm a Democrat or a Republican, because I refuse to be placed into a category.”
post with wires
