9 facts about the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt against Donald Trump

The suspect in the allegedly foiled assassination attempt on the former US president, which allegedly took place at a golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, has been identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh.

Ryan Wesley Routh is originally from North Carolina, but moved to Hawaii in 2018, where he ran a cabin-building business, according to several sources.

In 2002, he barricaded himself inside United Roofing with an automatic machine gun for three hours. The precise reasons for this incident remain unclear, but it seems to be related to his professional field.

Following this troubling incident, Routh was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon of mass destruction. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation in this case.

In 2022, following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, he went to Kiev declaring that he was ready to die for the cause. However, the Ukrainian military rejected him because of his lack of military experience. According to Remus Cernea, a war correspondent who met him on this occasion and was interviewed by CNN after the failed assassination attempt on Trump, he described Routh as an idealist whose commitment had been taken to the extreme.

According to ABC News, Routh posted a message on Twitter now X in June 2020 criticizing Trump in which he said he had supported Trump in the 2016 election, but that he had become a disappointment and in which he said he would be happy when Trump was gone.

Routh has links with both Democrats and Republicans. In 2020, he endorsed Bernie Sanders as well as Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat who has since left her party to support Trump. In addition, he has also expressed support for Republican presidential candidates such as Vivek Ramaswamy in 2024 and Nikki Haley.

When the secret agents guarding Trump’s planned golf course surprised him, he fled, leaving behind his AK-47 equipped with a scope, two backpacks and a GoPro camera. At this point, Trump was between 300 and 500 meters away.

The suspect has been charged with federal firearms crimes, and additional charges could be filed in the coming days. According to his cellular data, he spent nearly 12 hours concealed in the bushes around Trump’s golf club.