The alleged gunman who authorities say tried to kill former President Donald Trump Sunday previously pledged his support for Ukraine in its war against Russia — going as far as to say he was ready to “fight and die” for Kyiv, according to a report.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was hit with two federal gun charges on Monday, one day after he took aim at Trump 400 yards away through the fence at a West Palm Beach club where the former president was golfing.
However, not long before his arrest, Routh was trying to recruit volunteers on social media to fight in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“I would tremendously enjoy the invitation to join any monumental worthy cause to bring about real change in our world,” Routh once wrote in his LinkedIn profile. “I am certainly free to relocate to any remote location on the planet that might render the most positive impact.”
When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Routh began to encourage non-Ukrainians to travel to the country to fight, writing that he was ready to “fight and die” for the cause, the outlet reported.
“We need to burn the Kremlin to the ground and put an end to Putin and Russia,” he wrote at the time about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Routh then traveled to Kyiv in April 2022 where he was rejected from joining Ukraine’s military service — prompting him to begin to persuade others to join the fight.
“That was his main task—that he assigned to himself,” Chris Lutz, a German humanitarian volunteer who knew Routh in Ukraine told the Journal. “He wasn’t officially assigned by the armed forces of Ukraine. It was just kind of his personal mission to do so.”
Upon his arrival Routh also tweeted at the official account of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, writing that he was in Kyiv and planned to erect a tent city in the capital to attract foreign fighters.
“We can raise great support and equipment,” he wrote.
Routh, who often wore an American flag T-shirt or bandana, told the Romanian version of Newsweek in 2022 that the conflict was “definitely black and white.”
“This is about good versus evil,” he said.
On his website, he wrote that “losing this war isn’t an option” and implored others around the world to “join this fight,” according to the outlet.
“Ryan was more of a recruitment cheerleader,” Lutz said. “He became some sort of a mascot.”
Routh later clashed with Ukraine’s International Legion, whose officials believed he was falsely claiming to have an affiliation with the group.
Frustrated by his inability to join the war, Routh redirected his efforts to defense production and arms imports and tried to strike up deals for drone production in Ukraine, according to the Journal.
“He went from wearing the American flag all the time, with crazy hair, to a suit,” Johnny Rogers, an American who worked for a medical NGO in Ukraine, told the outlet. “When he was in the suit mode, he was actively trying to get defense deals. He was trying every single angle he could to do military stuff. He wanted to be a player.”
But by the spring of last year he was out of money, Rogers told the outlet.
Routh, who studied mechanical engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University until 1998, relocated to Hawaii before the war prompted him to set his sights on Ukraine.
Routh was charged with possessing a firearm despite being a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the first charge, and a possible five-year sentence on the second charge, officials said.
Additional charges may be filed against him as the investigation continues and prosecutors seek an indictment, prosecutors said.
A detention hearing for Routh has been set for Sept. 23 while his arraignment will be Sept. 30.
