What we know about Ryan Routh, the reported suspect behind Donald Trump assassination attempt

Social media accounts bearing Ryan Routh's name suggest he was an avid supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Updated - September 16, 2024 08:10 pm IST

An undated selfie shows Ryan W. Routh, a suspect identified by news organisations, as the FBI investigates what they said was an apparent assassination attempt in Florida on Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump,

An undated selfie shows Ryan W. Routh, a suspect identified by news organisations, as the FBI investigates what they said was an apparent assassination attempt in Florida on Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, | Photo Credit: via Reuters

A gunman attempted to assassinate former U.S. president Donald Trump on Sunday (September 15, 2024) at Mr. Trump's golf course in Palm Beach, Florida, authorities said. Several news organisations identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, citing unidentified law enforcement officials. The FBI declined to comment.

Here is what we know so far about the suspected gunman:

Gun barrel in bushes

The Secret Service said its agents were accompanying Mr. Trump on the golf course, when one who was securing holes ahead of the Republican presidential candidate spotted a gun barrel in some bushes near the property line.

Multiple agents engaged the gunman and fired at least four rounds at him. The gunman then dropped his AK-47 style rifle, two backpacks, a Go Pro camera and other items and fled in a black Nissan car.

Palm Beach County sheriff Ric Bradshaw said a witness managed to take a photo of the suspected gunman's car and license plate and gave it to authorities.

Shortly after, sheriff's deputies in neighboring Martin County stopped the suspect on Interstate 95 and took him into custody.

Posts on Ukraine, democracy

Reuters found profiles on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn for a Ryan Routh, and public access to the Facebook and X profiles was removed hours after the shooting.

The three accounts bearing Routh's name suggest he was an avid supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia.

On April 21, Routh directed an X message to Elon Musk, in which he wrote: "I would like to buy a rocket from you. I wish to load it with a warhead for Putins Black sea mansion bunker to end him. Can you give me a price please."

Follow updates on the Donald Trump shooting

The New York Times reported it had interviewed Routh in 2023 for an article about Americans who were volunteering to help the Ukraine war effort. Routh told the Times he had travelled to Ukraine and spent several months there in 2022 and was trying to recruit Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban to fight in Ukraine.

On X in 2020, Routh expressed support for Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and mocked Mr. Biden as "sleepy Joe."

Earlier this year, Routh tagged Mr. Biden in a post on X: "@POTUS Your campaign should be called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA... make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose."

The suspected gunman's son, Adam, reached by Reuters at the hardware store where he works in Hawaii, said he had not yet heard of the newest Trump assassination attempt and had "no information," adding it was not something he believed his father would do.

Later, the reporter called back to the store and a colleague said Adam had gone home because of an emergency.

Another son of Routh's, Oran, told CNN in a statement that "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."

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.