Ryan Wesley Routh, the alleged would-be assassin targeting former President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course, has a history of spouting anti-Trump rhetoric, a lengthy rap sheet and an obsession with Ukraine.
Details are still emerging about the 58-year-old suspect as authorities scramble to investigate the suspected attempt on Trump’s life — the second in two months — while he was golfing in West Palm Beach on Sunday afternoon.
Routh of Hawaii was nabbed after a Secret Service agent stationed a few holes ahead of the 78-year-old former president noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course — roughly 400 yards away.
Here is what we know so far about the accused gunman, who is being held in custody:
A Trump detractor
Routh has repeatedly railed against Trump on social media and posted about his alleged threats to democracy — echoing recent rhetoric from Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden.
In a post on X in April, Routh claimed Trump wants to “make Americans slaves against master” and advised Biden, who was still running for re-election at the time, to center his campaign around keeping “America democratic and free.
“DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose,” Routh wrote, echoing a theme commonly used by both Biden and Harris.
“We cannot afford to fail,” the suspect said. “The world is counting on us to show the way.”
After the July assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, Routh took to X to encourage Biden and Harris to visit those who had been wounded along with the former ex-prez — while also still sticking it to the GOP presidential candidate.
“You should visit the victims in the hospital of the trump rally victims and attend the funeral of the fireman that died; Trump certainly never would. SHOW THE WORLD WHAT REAL LEADERS DO,” Routh posted.
The suspect also tweeted at Trump in June 2020 that while he supported the Republican in 2016, he was left disappointed by his time in the White House.
“I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving; are you retarded; I will be glad when you gone,” Routh wrote.
A self-published book
Routh penned a rambling, self-published book last year that touched on his disdain for Trump — and even urged Iran to kill him.
The book, which appears on Amazon without a publisher listed, is titled, “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: The Fatal Flaw of Democracy, World Abandonment and the Global Citizen – Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea and the End of Humanity.”
Routh described the former president as a “fool” and “buffoon” for both the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and the “tremendous blunder” of leaving the Iran nuclear pact.
“You are free to assassinate Trump,” Routh wrote of Iran.
Routh said he voted for Trump in 2016, adding that he has to take part of the blame for the “child that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless.”
Ties to Ukraine
Routh repeatedly expressed support for Ukraine in his book and in a slew of social media posts.
He visited Kyiv in the summer of 2022 and also had a website where he sought to raise money and recruit volunteers to join the fight against the country’s Russian invaders.
Footage published by news outlets showed Routh at a small demonstration in Kyiv’s Independence Square in April 2022 brandishing a sign reading, “We cannot tolerate corruption and evil for another 50+ years. End Russia for our kids.”
In the clip, he was wearing a blue vest with the US flag on the back.
Ukrainian officials have distanced themselves from Routh in the wake of his arrest, saying Monday they had no links to him and warning that Russia would use his support for Ukraine as propaganda.
Oleksandr Shahuri of the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command said Routh had never served in the Ukrainian army or worked with its military.
Routh, though, had periodically contacted the International Legion of Ukraine with what he described as “nonsensical ideas” that “can best be described as delusional,” Shahuri added.
Where does he live?
He lived in North Carolina, including Greensboro, for most of his life and attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, according to online records and his LinkedIn.
Routh relocated to Kaaawa, Hawaii, sometime around 2018.
Routh and his son operate a small construction business — Camp Box Honolulu — that mostly builds storage sheds and tiny houses, according to an archived version of the company’s website.
He once donated one of the structures to the homeless, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
“All of us are tired of seeing the homeless people all over the island with nowhere to go,” he told the outlet in 2019.
Brushes with the law
Records show that while living in Greensboro, Routh had multiple run-ins with law enforcement.
He was convicted in 2002 of possessing a “weapon of mass destruction,” a machine gun, after an hours-long standoff with cops, online records show.
While the records don’t provide many details about the case, a News & Record story from the time reported Routh had been pulled over during a traffic stop, put his hand on a gun and barricaded himself inside a roofing business.
In another incident, he was charged with misdemeanors including a hit-and-run, resisting arrest and a concealed-weapons violation, records show.
Documents also show Routh was convicted of a felony count of possession of stolen goods in 2010, as well as other misdemeanors including illegally carrying a concealed weapon, a hit-and-run incident, speeding and driving with a revoked license.
In each of those cases, Routh was sentenced to either probation or a suspended sentence — meaning he avoided prison time.
Family life
Routh is believed to have at least two sons.
One of the sons, Oran Routh, told the Daily Mail that his dad hates Trump, like “every reasonable person does” — but claimed he is not a violent person.
“He’s my dad, and all he’s had is a couple traffic tickets, as far as I know,” Oran told the outlet.
“That’s crazy,” the son said of the accusations against his father. “I know my dad and love my dad, but that’s nothing like him.
“He’s not a violent person. He’s a hard worker and a great dad. He’s a great dude, a nice guy and has worked his whole f–king life.”
In a separate statement to CNN, Oran said, “I don’t have any comment beyond a character profile of him as a loving and caring father. … I don’t know what’s happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion.”
When reached immediately after news broke of the assassination attempt, Routh’s other son, Adam, who works at the Hawaii hardware store, said he had “no information” but that it wasn’t something he believed his father would do.
Political views
Voter records show Routh registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012. He most recently voted in person during the state’s Democratic Party primary in March 2024.
Routh has a history of supporting progressive causes online.
Federal campaign finance records show Routh made 19 small political donations totaling $140 since 2019, using his Hawaii address, to ActBlue — a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates.
But his more than 500 posts on X also show his support for politicians can range from the left to the right, with him backing pols such as Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard and Nicki Haley, as well as Trump, at various times.
In his book, Routh wrote, “I get so tired of people asking me if I am a Democrat or Republican as I refuse to be put in a category.”
With Post wires
