The United States authorities have reported that a gunman attempted to assassinate the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, at his golf course in Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday, September 15th.
According to CNN, Fox News, and The New York Times citing unidentified law enforcement officials, the suspect is a 58-year-old Hawaiian named Ryan Wesley Routh. The FBI declined to comment, and Reuters was unable to independently verify his identity.
Here is the information about the suspect that various news outlets have gathered so far:
The Secret Service stated that agents were accompanying Trump on the golf course when one agent responsible for protecting the front hole discovered a gun barrel in the bushes near the perimeter of the course.
Multiple agents exchanged fire with the gunman, firing at least four shots at him. The gunman then abandoned an AK-47 rifle, two backpacks, a GoPro camera, and other items before fleeing the scene in a black Nissan car.
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach County stated that a witness managed to take photos of the suspect’s car and license plate and handed them over to the authorities.
Shortly thereafter, sheriffs from nearby Martin County intercepted the suspect on Interstate 95 and detained him.
Reuters found personal information about Ryan Routh on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Access to his Facebook and X profiles was deleted from the public shortly after the shooting incident.
Three accounts named after Routh indicated that he was a fervent supporter of Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
On April 21st, Routh sent a message to Elon Musk saying, “I want to buy a rocket from you. I want to put a warhead on it to destroy Putin’s building hideout in the Black Sea, make him go bye-bye. Can you give me a price?”
According to The New York Times, the outlet interviewed Routh in 2023 and wrote an article about American volunteers aiding the Ukrainian war effort. Routh told The New York Times that he had traveled to Ukraine in 2022 and actively recruited Afghan soldiers fleeing the Taliban to join the fight in Ukraine.
In an interview published in the Romanian edition of Newsweek in June 2022, Routh stated, “Many other conflicts are shades of gray, but this one is absolutely black and white, a struggle of good against evil.” His comments indicated he was in Kyiv at the time.
Routh mentioned that he initially planned to fight in Ukraine but was not accepted due to his age and lack of military experience.
The International Legion, also known as the Ukraine International Military Legion Defence of Ukraine (ILDU), said that although many foreign fighters were serving in Ukraine, they have no connection to Routh.
In 2020, Routh expressed support for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on X and mocked Biden as “Sleepy Joe.”
Earlier this year, Routh tweeted with a tag to Biden, saying, “Your campaign should be called KADAF (Keep America Democratic And Free); Trump should be called MASA (Make Americans Slaves Again); Democracy is on the ballot, we cannot lose.”
Reuters contacted Routh’s son, Adam, who works at a hardware store in Hawaii. He stated he had not heard the latest news about the Trump assassination attempt and had no information, adding that he did not believe his father was capable of such actions.
Later, when reporters called Adam again, his colleague mentioned that Adam had gone home due to an emergency.
Routh’s other son, Oran, issued a statement to CNN, saying, “I have no comment other than to say that he is a loving and caring father… I don’t know what happened in Florida, I hope it’s all blown out of proportion.”
(This article references reporting from Reuters)