His name is Ryan Wesley Routh, the man detained by authorities yesterday afternoon in Florida on suspicion of being Donald Trump’s alleged would-be assassin. Routh, 58, is a self-employed housing contractor from Hawaii who has spoken out repeatedly on his social profiles in recent months on political and current issues, often criticizing the former president and current GOP nominee.
Over the summer, the man, who authorities say wanted to assassinate Trump while playing golf, had also spoken on X about the July 13 assassination attempt on the former president in Butler, Pennsylvania. In a post, Routh had tagged the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, and President Biden, writing, “You should visit the wounded at the rally and attend the funeral of the slain firefighter. Trump will never do anything for them.”
In another April post, however, the 58-year-old said the tycoon’s campaign should be called “MASA,” not MAGA, which stands for “Make Americans Slaves Again.” Yet in the past, Routh, a North Carolina native, had been a supporter of The Donald. In 2016, in fact, the construction worker had voted for the boastful entrepreneur, only to later backpedal. “I and the world hoped President Trump would be different and better than candidate Trump,” he wrote in 2020, “we have all been disappointed and it seems to be getting worse. I will be happy when he leaves.”
As a result, in recent years Routh decided to embrace the Democratic cause, even supporting it with $100 donations. Since 2022, however, the man has also stood up for Ukraine, which is engaged in a conflict with Russia, saying on social media, “I am willing to fly to Krakow and go to the border of Ukraine to fight and die. We must raze the Kremlin to the ground.” Last year Routh used his Facebook account to encourage foreigners to fight in the war. He tried to enlist Afghan conscripts in a flurry of posts, presenting himself as a kind of undercover agent near Kiev.
His LinkedIn page says that in 2018 he started a company called Camp Box Honolulu, which builds storage units and small houses. In the past, however, he has had more than one brush with the law, North Carolina records show.
In 2002, Routh had been arrested after being stopped by police for allegedly getting his hands on a firearm before barricading himself in a business. State and federal authorities have also repeatedly accused him of failing to pay his taxes on time. In 2008, for example, he had a federal tax debt of about $32,000, according to court documents.
Early Sunday afternoon, Trump was at his golf club when Secret Service agents heard gunshots and noticed a man in the distance armed with an AK-47. Authorities then stopped Routh, the prime suspect, who was trying to flee in his vehicle.
When asked about his father, the 58-year-old’s son, Oran, said, “I don’t know what happened in Florida, and I hope things are just blown out of proportion.” The eldest son of the alleged suspect described him as “a loving and caring father, an honest person, and a hard worker.”
