The man who authorities believe was going to try to assassinate former President Donald Trump on Sunday was banned from owning firearms because of past criminal convictions.
Ryan Routh, 58, was arraigned in federal court on Monday on charges of possessing a firearm with a filed-off serial number and possessing a firearm despite being a felon.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the serial number was “at least partially obliterated” on the weapon, thus making it difficult to determine where he obtained it.
Secret Service opened fire on Routh after spotting him with an AK-47-style rifle 300-500 yards away from Trump.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) records indicate that Routh donated exclusively to Democrats from 2019-2020 when he lived in Hawaii.
The small-dollar donations, sent through the Democrats’ fundraising platform ActBlue, were earmarked for Democrat presidential candidates Beto O’Rourke, Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer, Tulsi Gabbard, and Elizabeth Warren.
A truck that was parked outside Routh’s home in North Carolina displayed a Biden-Harris bumper sticker.
Routh reportedly had numerous run-ins with the law while living in North Carolina.
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FOX8 WGHP reported that Routh’s criminal record dates back to 2002 when “he barricaded himself inside a business with a gun in Greensboro.”
NBC News reported that he was convicted of possessing weapon of mass destruction — in this case a fully automatic machine gun — in 2002.
“Records also show convictions for carrying a concealed weapon, possession of stolen property and hit-and-run,” the report said. “In those cases, which included misdemeanor convictions for violations such as resisting an officer and driving on a suspended license, the defendant received a suspended sentence and parole or probation.”
Trump responded to the assassination attempt by saying that Routh “believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it.”
“Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out,” he continued. “These are people that want to destroy our country. It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat.”
Trump said that Democrats and the media incite attempts on his life through a “combination” of actions they take against him, including extreme rhetoric, lies, and lawfare.
“These are the things that dangerous fools, like the shooter, listen to — that is the rhetoric they listen to, and the same with the first one,” he said, later adding: “The media is made up of fools that will spew [Democrats’] garbage and spew their sick philosophies and will protect them at all costs, and they can’t believe they get away with it. Democrats are totally protected by the media.”
