Trump shooting suspect apparently voted for him in 2016, had run-ins with the law
Ryan Wesley Routh spent last two years trying to recruit people to fight Russia in Ukraine, once questioned whether Jews had any historic ties to Israel
Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent second assassination attempt of Donald Trump, previously indicated on social media that he voted for the Republican presidential nominee in 2016 but was disappointed and later wrote he would “be glad” when Trump was gone.
Routh, 58, was also involved in efforts to send people to fight Russia in Ukraine, according to his now-deleted Facebook page.
The US Secret Service confirmed Sunday that one or more of its agents “opened fire on a gunman” located near the boundary of Trump’s golf course, and that an “AK-47 style rifle” with a scope was recovered along with a GoPro video camera. Amid the confrontation with the Secret Service, the suspect bolted out of the shrubbery he had been hiding in and escaped in a black car. It was tracked down and Routh was arrested.
Media reports indicate Routh, who had been living in Hawaii in recent years and working as a builder, had had multiple run-ins with the law.
In 2002 he was arrested after being pulled over and allegedly placing his hand on a firearm in the car, before trying to evade arrest and barricading himself in a nearby building.
He faced legal troubles multiple times for alleged financial offenses.
Routh owns a small construction business in Hawaii that purports to build affordable storage and housing, but a former customer called his work “shoddy” and told CNN that he clashed with Routh over dissatisfaction with the results.
“He just kind of started ranting about, you know, ‘You think because you have money, you’re better than me?’” Salai Levi told CNN, adding, “I kind of decided maybe I should just let it go for the sake of my family.”
According to a New York Times report, Routh had in recent years sought to help former Afghan soldiers who had fled the Taliban reach Ukraine to join the war effort.
Over the last two years, he made many now-deleted Facebook posts calling on people to join the effort in Ukraine, presenting himself as an organizer for civilian recruits who wanted to join him.
It is unclear to what extent Routh carried out such plans, if at all.
In December 2023, amid the war in Gaza, Routh questioned Jews’ connection to Israel, apparently misunderstanding a historic map of the region. Sharing an ancient map about Jesus’ journeys that had the title “Palestine,” he wrote: “I am unclear what part of Isreal [sic] the Jews owned based on this historic map; Judea perhaps? It seems to historically all be Palestinian.”
Ryan Wesley Routh Facebook page was taken down
He doesn't think #Israel should exist pic.twitter.com/VhP43Ml8xp— Kevin (@kevinpost) September 15, 2024
The name Palestine was coined by the Romans and was used broadly to refer to the land — unconnected to the people who inhabited it — prior to the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948. It was not widely used to refer specifically to the land’s Arab population prior to that time.
In an alleged post from February of this year (the account is now suspended), he criticized Republican Nikki Haley for not commenting in a speech on “Gaza murders,” among other issues.
Gaza supporter pic.twitter.com/6jObFBF1kz
— Nessa (@justsumchiik) September 15, 2024
In a 2020 post on X, he suggested serving as a “liaison” to North Korea, inviting dictator Kim Jong Un to visit Hawaii.
On Sunday, the Secret Service opened an investigation into a potential assassination of Trump after shots were heard in his vicinity at one of his golf clubs in Florida. Investigators said the Republican presidential candidate was safe and that it was unclear whether he was targeted.
Following news of the potential assassination attempt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted that he and his wife “were shocked by the second assassination attempt against” Trump after the Republican candidate was shot during a rally in July.
The Netanyahus were “relieved to hear that it too failed,” the prime minister wrote, “but we should not rely on luck.”
“We send our best wishes to Donald and Melania along with our hopes that all measures will be taken to ensure that such deadly attacks on a candidate for the US presidency will be foiled in advance,” the statement added.
On July 13, a bullet grazed Trump’s ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Following the July shooting, which killed a man at the rally and injured several others, Routh said on social media that US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris should visit the victims, as “Trump will never do anything for them.”
