Suspect in Donald Trump Alleged Assassination Attempt Now Charged: What to Know About Accused Man

Mar. 15, 2025

A man has been charged with federal weapon offensesin connection with what authorities have said was an apparent assassination attemptof former President Donald Trump.

Trump was unharmed after multiple gunshots were fired in his vicinity as he golfed at Trump National Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday, Sept. 15.

According to theAssociated Press,The New York TimesandCNN, authorities identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58.

During a press conference Sunday,Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw saida Secret Service agent “engaged” a man pointing a scoped AK-style rifle out of the bushes. The man, who did not fire a shot, fled the scene but was later apprehended.

The FBI said the incident “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”

Routh was reportedly ardent in his support of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in 2022.

TheTimesreported that on his X (formerly Twitter) account, Routh posted that he was “willing to fly to Krakow and go to the border of Ukraine” and fight for the country, and that he also expressed a willingness to die.

The Timesreported that Routh shared a Facebook message he had received from an American foreign fighter who he believed had spoken to him in a condescending manner. In response, Routh reportedly told the paper that the fighter needed “to be shot.”

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According to North Carolina criminal records, Routh is a convicted felon. In 2002, Routh was convicted of possessing a weapon of mass destruction. A story on the incident from theNews & Recordreports that Routh barricaded himself inside a business with a fully automatic weapon during a three-hour standoff with police. The AP reported that Routh owned the roofing business where he was barricaded.

Routh’s son, Oran, told CNN in a text that his father is “loving and caring.”

“I don’t know what’s happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion, because from the little I’ve heard it doesn’t sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violent,” he told the outlet.

The AP reported that Routh lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving to Hawaii in 2018.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Routh owns a construction company in Hawaii.

Citing Routh’s now-suspended X account, CNN reported that Routh had indicated he voted for Trump in 2016.

According to federal campaign contribution records, Routh has made several donations to ActBlue, a Democratic-affiliated donation processor, since 2019.

source: people.com