The suspect in an apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at his golf course in Florida on Sunday made his first court appearance Monday morning and was charged with federal gun crimes.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is facing multiple charges, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of firearm with an obliterated serial number. Additional and more serious charges are likely to follow as federal prosecutors seek an indictment.
Trump, who was golfing with longtime friend and adviser Steve Witkoff at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Fla., was unharmed and quickly moved to a secure location.
Authorities said Routh was pointing a rifle through a fence at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach — just 300 to 500 yards away from the former president — when he was spotted by a Secret Service agent, who opened fire.
Routh fled the scene in an SUV but a witness took a photo of his license plate, and he was apprehended on I-95 in nearby Martin County, north of Palm Beach, a short time later. Routh was unarmed at the time of his arrest, but authorities found an AK-style rifle, two backpacks and a GoPro camera at the scene.
Read more from Yahoo News: Suspect in apparent assassination attempt against Trump charged with federal gun crimes
Who is Ryan Wesley Routh?
Public records indicate that Routh lives in Hawaii, but voting records show he is registered in North Carolina as an unaffiliated voter.
The Raleigh News & Observer described Routh as a Greensboro resident with "an extensive criminal history" in the state — including "convictions between 2002 and 2010 of possession of weapons of mass destruction, carrying a concealed gun, hit and run, possession of stolen goods and resisting law enforcement, among other charges."
Routh has made several small donations totaling $140 to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democrats, since 2019, per the News & Observer. Per USA Today, Routh voted most recently in the March primary election this year in Guilford County, North Carolina. He voted Democratic.
According to the Associated Press, Routh moved to the small town of Kaaawa, Hawaii, in 2018, to "go in business with his adult son building small wooden sheds." The AP published photos of Routh's house in Kaaawa on Sunday. A white pickup truck with a Biden-Harris bumper sticker and a flat tire was in the driveway.
Read more from the News & Observer: NC man held after attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump
Routh’s social media posts were critical of Trump
An account on X that appeared to be Routh's offered some clear political views.
In April, he suggested that President Biden’s campaign would keep “America democratic and free,” and said Trump’s campaign should be called “make Americans slave masters again.”
In a post to former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, he said: “I do not want trivial bullshit; I want heartful [sic] on students killed, Gaza murders, Ukraine horrors, Taiwan, China murders, freedom, democracy, something inspiring please.”
And shortly after Trump’s first assassination attempt in July, Routh tagged both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, asking them to visit those hospitalized after the Pennsylvania rally attack.
“@JoeBiden 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, referencing Corey Comperatore, a firefighter who was killed at the rally.
“Trump will never do anything for them,” he wrote in another post. “Show the world what compassion and humanity is all about.”
The account has been taken offline but Yahoo News viewed the posts before they were removed.
Read more from USA Today: Trump assassination attempt in Florida: Who is suspect Ryan Routh?
Routh was among Americans who volunteered to help Ukraine
Routh was among Americans interviewed by the New York Times last year who traveled to aid in Ukraine's war effort following Russia's invasion. Routh, who had no military experience, "spent several months" in Ukraine in 2022, the Times reported. Identified by the Times as a former construction worker, Routh said he was trying to recruit people to aid in the fight against Russia for the International Legion of the Defense of Ukraine, even "hatching a plan to use fake passports to smuggle in fighters from Pakistan and Iran."
That same year, Semafor identified Routh as the head of the International Volunteer Center in Ukraine, a group that connects foreigners with locals to assist with the war effort.
Routh also spoke to Newsweek in 2022, saying that while other global conflicts "are gray," the Russia-Ukraine conflict was "definitely black and white." He continued, "This is about good versus evil. This is a storybook, you know, any movie we've ever watched, this is definitely evil against good."
It does not appear, however, that Routh actually joined the war effort. Oleksandr Shahuri, an official with the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command, told the AP that Routh never served in the Ukrainian army or worked with its military.
Routh self-published book urging Iran to assassinate Trump
In an apparently self-published book, "Ukraine's Unwinnable War," in 2023, Routh said he once voted for Trump but now describes him as a "child," "fool," and "buffoon," the Associated Press reported.
In the book, Routh called Trump’s decision to leave the Iran nuclear deal a “tremendous blunder,” and even urged Iran to kill him.
“You are free to assassinate Trump,” Routh wrote.
Read more from AP: Man accused of trying to kill Trump wrote a book urging Iran to assassinate the ex-president
