The suspected would-be assassin of former President Donald Trump has been identified by officials as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58.
Few details have been verified about Routh, including a motive.
According to the official account so far, Routh allegedly took a position along the perimeter fence at the Trump International Golf Course at West Palm Beach, where he set up with an AK-47 style rifle, a GoPro, and two nondescript bags.
A Secret Service agent, patrolling the golf course ahead of Trump, who was at the fifth hole, noticed a rifle poking through the fence line and opened fire, at which point Routh fled. Routh was 300 to 500 yards from Trump, authorities said, and had a scope attachment on his rifle.
Routh was later apprehended on I-95 after a witness provided photos of his vehicle and license plate to law enforcement.
Routh is currently in the custody of the Martin County Police Department, where he is facing both federal and state crimes.
The incident might not be Routh’s first run-in with law enforcement.
According to a record search of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, a man named Ryan Wesley Routh has a prior rap sheet. It shows that in 2002 he was convicted of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, referring to a fully automatic rifle, which were outlawed in the United States in 1986.
The Epoch Times hasn’t been able to independently verify it is the same Ryan Wesley Routh.
An archived X account under the same name as the suspect includes several posts expressing support for Ukraine, Taiwan, and NATO.
One post expressed interest in forming a volunteer force of Afghan soldiers to assist police in Haiti. The account owner also expressed interest in forming a Taiwanese foreign legion composed of NATO-trained Afghanis.
The account also reposted two posts supportive of Ukraine.
Someone of the same name also appeared in a New York Times article from March 2023.
That article described Routh as working to put together a foreign fighting force composed of NATO-trained Afghanis to aid Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Routh had a website where he sought to recruit volunteers to join the Ukrainian forces in Kyiv, according to the Associated Press. He also reportedly collected donations to aid in those efforts.
In a 2022 interview with Newsweek, Routh advocated for the U.S. to get involved in the conflict, which he said was “about good versus evil.”
The New York Times article said Routh spent several months in Ukraine in 2022 and planned to move dozens of Afghani soldiers who fled the Taliban, sometimes illegally, into Ukraine from Pakistan and Iran.
Trump has been critical of the Russia–Ukraine conflict, which he said he would quickly end, if elected. He has also criticized NATO members that have fallen short of the 2 percent GDP contribution obligation.
Routh’s son, Oran Routh, told DailyMail.com that his father hates Trump as “every reasonable person does.”
The younger Routh said his father was not a violent person and that the allegations against him were out of character for him.
“He’s my dad and all he’s had is couple traffic tickets, as far as I know,” he said. “’That’s crazy. I know my dad and love my dad, but that’s nothing like him.”
Voter records show Ryan W. Routh is currently registered as an unaffiliated voter in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is originally from the Tar Heel State, but moved to Hawaii at one point.
Second Attempt
The FBI said the incident appears to be a second attempted assassination of the president. It is leading the investigation into the incident. The State of Florida will also investigate the failed attempt on Trump’s life, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
Trump has confirmed he was unharmed. “I am safe and well!” he wrote in all caps on social media shortly after gunshots rang out.
The suspect had set up his rifle, equipped with a scope, on the border fence of the golf course and had a GoPro camera, suggesting he may have planned to film his attempt to assassinate Trump, Bradshaw said.
Law enforcement shared photos of Routh’s staging area, hidden amongst the shrubbery on the perimeter fence of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
The suspect had two black bags attached to a chain-link fence, each containing ceramic tiles behind which he could hide his head. A rifle was placed in the gap between the bags, with its tip pointed through the fence wire toward the golf course.
Routh fled the scene when the Secret Service opened fire on him. A witness saw him leaving the area in a black Nissan SUV and was able to take a photo of the vehicle, the details of which were shared with local law enforcement.
The suspect’s license plate was detected shortly after on I-95, and he was apprehended.
Arresting officers reported that the suspect was emotionless and silent upon contact.
Routh is set to make his initial court appearance on Monday at 10 a.m. ET at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Shanda Walker, courtroom deputy for the magistrate judge section, told The Epoch Times.
From The Epoch Times