Who is Ryan Wesley Routh? NC man detained in alleged would-be Trump assassination attempt

Investigators are questioning a Greensboro, North Carolina, man in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

This comes nine weeks after Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Ryan Wesley Routh of Greensboro is in custody after the Secret Service spotted a scope pointed at the former president while he golfing at his course in Florida.

Routh, 58, has an extensive criminal history in North Carolina that includes 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 a second address in Hawaii. But he’s registered to vote in North Carolina as an unaffiliated voter. In North Carolina, unaffiliated voters can choose which primary they want to vote in. Routh chose Democrats when he voted this spring.

Routh has also made small donations through ActBlue throughout the 2024 election cycle. ActBlue is an online platform used by Democrats for fundraising.

Secret Service is reported to have fired at the attempted shooter after spotting his weapon, an AK-47. The man ran, leaving behind two backpacks in the bushes of the golf course. A witness took photographs of his black Nissan, with his license plate, which led investigators to Routh.

Trump was not hurt.

He was filmed by AP in Kyiv in 2022

The Associated Press filmed Ryan Wesley Routh in April 2022 at a demonstration in Kyiv’s Independence Square two months after Russia invaded Ukraine.

A placard he was holding said: “We cannot tolerate corruption and evil for another 50+ years. End Russia for our kids.” He wore a blue vest with the American flag on the back, along with a scarf and T-shirt in the colors of his national flag, while participating in a small rally.

Other participants held posters drawing attention to Mariupol, which was under siege at the time and is now occupied by Russia. That same day, Routh also paid tribute to foreign citizens killed during the war near a makeshift memorial sign reading “Foreigners killed by Putin.”

He hasn’t served in Ukrainian army, official says

Ryan Wesley Routh has never served in the Ukrainian army nor collaborated with the military in any capacity, according to Oleksandr Shahuri, a representative officer of the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command.

Over the past two-and-a-half years, Routh has periodically contacted the international legion with what Shahuri described as “nonsensical ideas.” His plans and ideas can best be described as delusional.”

Shahuri, speaking to The Associated Press, firmly denied any connection to Routh. The International Legion of Ukraine was created shortly after the outbreak of the war by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It consists of foreign citizens “wishing to join the resistance against the Russian occupants and fight for global security,” according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.

Zelenskyy released a statement on X regarding the apparent assassination attempt: “I am glad to hear that Donald Trump is safe and unharmed. My best wishes to him and his family. It’s good that the suspect in the assassination attempt was apprehended quickly. This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world. We sincerely hope that everyone remains safe.”

In July, just days before the Republican National Convention, Trump held a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired at Trump striking his ear. Snipers returned fire killing Crooks instantly.

The shooting at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania led to the resignation of the Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle and the formation of a Congressional committee to investigate how someone was able to get that close to Trump with a gun.

Trump’s schedule Sunday was not public, and it’s not clear how the attempted assassin knew where he would be.

Trump is scheduled to be in Wilmington on Saturday for a rally.