What to know about the suspect in the Trump golf club assassination attempt
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This screengrab taken from AFPTV on Sept. 16 shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organizations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol on April 27, 2022. Photo: AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images
The suspected gunman in an apparent assassination attempt on former President Trump at his Florida golf club on Sunday has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh.
The big picture: Routh was charged Monday with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
- Prosecutors allege in a complaint that Routh remained in the vicinity of the area along the tree line near Trump's West Palm Beach golf club for almost 12 hours.
- The serial number of the firearm was "obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye," court filings allege.
Ryan Routh background
Routh's criminal history includes convictions for felonies in North Carolina in December 2002 and March 2010, which prohibited him from possessing a firearm, Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said during a briefing Monday.
- His 2002 charge was for "possessing a weapon of mass destruction," which was a "fully automatic machine gun," according to WIRED, which interviewed the charging officer in the North Carolina case Sunday.
- Routh was also the subject of a 2019 FBI investigation based on a tip that he was allegedly in possession of a firearm as a felon, officials said. The bureau interviewed the alleged complainant, who did not verify giving the initial information, and the case was closed.
- NBC uncovered over 100 criminal counts filed against Routh in North Carolina, mostly in Guilford County, though it noted the outcome of each case was not clear.
- The New York Times described Routh in the article as a former construction worker from Greensboro, N.C., though the newspaper notes he was most recently based in Hawai'i.
Zoom in: Both Semafor and the Times reported interviewing Routh last year about his efforts to help Ukraine and offer his help as a volunteer soldier.
- In a 2022 interview with Newsweek Romania, Routh described the war in Ukraine as "definitely black and white" and "good versus evil."
What they're saying: Oran Routh, the suspect's son, characterized his father as "loving and caring" and an "honest, hardworking man," CNN reports.
- "I don't know what's 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 told CNN.
- A former Greensboro neighbor told a local TV station that Routh was unusual but she "would have never guessed" he would have attempted to shoot the former president.
- She wasn't, however, surprised to hear guns were involved, saying "They had a lot of guns and stuff over there ... a lot of people were afraid of him back in the day."
Ryan Routh's political views
The intrigue: Before X suspended his account Sunday, Routh had posted online statements that indicated he was a Trump supporter in 2016.
- However, he turned against the former president by 2020. He later expressed support for a ticket involving former Republican presidential primary candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley.
- Records indicate that Routh voted in the N.C. Democratic primary in March.
- He also made more than a dozen small donations dating to 2019 and totaling more than $100 through ActBlue, which handles Democratic contributions.
- In several posts on X in 2020, the New York Times reported, Routh expressed support for former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
In a book that appears to have been self-published on Amazon in 2023 titled "Ukraine's Unwinnable War," Routh describes Trump as a "fool" and a "buffoon" and criticizes the former president for leaving the Iran nuclear deal.
- In a section about Iran, Routh wrote: "You are free to assassinate Trump ... for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the deal."
- He also appears to blame himself in part for Trump's election, saying he "misjudged and made a terrible mistake."
More from Axios:
- Trump shooting incident sparks bipartisan push to boost his security
- Florida investigating apparent assassination attempt on Trump, DeSantis says
- Top Republicans and Democrats react to apparent assassination attempt on Trump
Editor's note: This story was updated with details from the charging documents and a Monday press briefing.
