Who Is Ryan Wesley Routh? Suspect Held For Donald Trump Assassination Attempt Wanted To Fight In Ukraine

Former US President Donald Trump survived an alleged assassination attempt on Sunday in Florida, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said. Gunshots were fired outside his golf course in Florida on Sunday afternoon, two months after the assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania’s Boulder. A 58-year-old suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, was arrested after Secret Service agents opened fire near the boundary of Trump’s golf course.

Shooter Was Hiding In Bushes

Routh was hiding in bushes and when Secret Service agents opened fire, he reportedly bolted out of the shrubbery and escaped in a black car. Authorities tracked down the car with the help of witnesses. A high-powered AK-47-style rifle with a scope and a GoPro camera was recovered at the scene.

“We have somebody in custody right now that is a potential suspect,” news agency AFP quoted Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.

Who is Ryan Wesley Routh?

According to a New York Times report, Routh is a former construction worker from North Carolina Greensboro. He had no formal military background but expressed his wish to participate in armed conflict in the past, particularly in Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion.

In an X post, Routh declared his willingness to “fight and die” in Ukraine. “I AM WILLING TO FLY TO KRAKOW AND GO TO THE BORDER OF UKRAINE TO VOLUNTEER AND FIGHT AND DIE,” he wrote.

In a previous interview with Newsweek Romania, Routh had said that he initially went to Ukraine to “fight” to support the Ukrainians. After arriving in Kyiv, he helped recruit people to get involved in the war. We need everyone here fighting… that’s why I’m in Kyiv so every project that I promote is about getting people here to support the Ukrainians,” he had said.

This wasn’t Routh’s first run-in with the law. In 2002, he was arrested after barricading himself inside a building with a fully automatic weapon in Greensboro. Serious charges were levelled against him, however, the outcome of the case remains unclear.

Routh’s son told Daily Mail that his father “hates Donald Trump like all reasonable people”. He also stated that his father is not a violent person and didn’t believe he owned a firearm.

US President Joe Biden, in an official statement, commended the work of the Secret Service and their law enforcement partners for their “vigilance and their efforts to keep the former President and those around him safe”.