ReutersRyan Wesley Routh has been identified by US media as a suspect in connection with the alleged assassination attempt on Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump in Florida.
Routh, 58, is originally from North Carolina and, according to land records, has spent most of his life there, but most recently lived in Hawaii.
His known activities paint a mixed picture of his political views. He appears to have been heavily involved in Ukraine’s war effort. He has also had a number of legal problems.
Here are some of the other things we know about him.
What did Mr. Routh do?
He is suspected of entering the Trump International Golf Course in Florida on Sunday armed with an AK-47 rifle. The FBI found the weapon and scope, two backpacks and a GoPro camera in the bushes where the suspect was hiding.
Although Routh managed to escape in his car, he was apparently spotted by a witness who took a photo of the black Nissan he was driving.
An urgent alert was issued for the car. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said two officers intercepted Routh’s vehicle 45 minutes after the gun was discovered on the golf course and followed him.
He was eventually stopped on Interstate 95 and taken into custody.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office/ReutersWhat does Mr Routh’s social media show?
BBC Verify found social media profiles matching Routh’s name, suggesting he has called for foreign fighters to go to Ukraine to fight Russian forces.
“I am coming from Hawaii to Ukraine to fight for your children and families and for democracy. I will come and die for you,” said a report on X, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
His profile also contains pro-Palestinian, pro-Taiwanese and anti-Chinese messages, including claims of Chinese “biological warfare” and suggestions that the Covid-19 virus is an “attack.”
According to CBS, Routh has supported President Trump at times. In a post on X, he wrote that the Republican was “my choice in 2016” but that he is “getting worse and regressing,” and continued, “I’ll be glad when you’re gone.”
Online, Mr Routh also called on President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris to meet with the victims of a shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, when another attempt on Trump’s life was made in July.
What connection does Mr Routh have to Ukraine?
Mr Routh told the New York Times in 2023 that he wanted to support the war effort in Ukraine and was trying to recruit Afghan soldiers who had fled the Taliban.
In a telephone interview with the newspaper, he said dozens of soldiers were interested and he planned to move them, in some cases illegally, from Pakistan and Iran to Ukraine.
“We can probably buy some passports through Pakistan since it is such a corrupt country,” he said.
Routh also told the newspaper at the time that he was in Washington to meet with the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and to advocate for more support for Ukraine.
Routh appears to have been involved in recruiting efforts as recently as July.
A July Facebook post read, in part: “Soldiers, please do not call me. We are still trying to get Ukraine to accept Afghan soldiers and hope to get some answers in the next few months…please be patient.”
The International Legion of Foreign Volunteers of Ukraine has denied any links and other Ukrainian politicians have distanced themselves from him. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned political violence.
“Playing with fire has consequences,” Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Reuters news agency.
Does Mr Routh have a criminal record?
According to records, Mr. Routh’s legal troubles date back to the 1990s and include lesser offenses related to writing bad checks, according to CBS.
CBS reported that Mr. Routh was charged and convicted of numerous crimes in Guilford County, North Carolina between 2002 and 2010.
In 2002, he was charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction. In another case, records show he was charged with minor offenses, including hit-and-run, resisting arrest and violating a ban on carrying concealed weapons.
His alleged crimes also include driving without a license, possession of stolen goods and hit-and-run.
Former neighbor Kim Mungo, who describes Mr. Routh as a “sweetheart,” said federal agents once raided Mr. Routh’s property.
She claimed he kept “a lot of stolen goods and other stuff” in his house. And she said she saw Routh and his family shooting guns outside.
What are his political views?
CBS reported that Mr. Routh personally voted for the Democrats in the party’s 2024 primary in North Carolina, the state’s elections board said.
He is reportedly registered as an unaffiliated voter, despite a social media post claiming he supported Trump in 2016.
Does Mr. Routh have a family?
Mr Routh’s son described him as a “loving and caring father and an honest, hard-working man.”
His eldest son, Oran, spoke to CNN via text message and said: “I don’t know what happened in Florida and I hope things were just blown out of proportion because from what little I’ve heard, it doesn’t sound like the man I know would do anything crazy, let alone violent.”
What happens next?
ReutersMr. Routh remains in custody and no formal charges have been filed against him. He is scheduled to appear before a judge later Monday at the Palm Beach County Courthouse near Mar-a-Lago.
It is unclear whether he actually fired his weapon during the incident.
“We are not sure at this time if the individual was capable of shooting at our agents, but certainly our agents were able to apprehend the suspect,” said Rafael Barros of the Secret Service’s Miami field office.
He said measures had been taken following the previous assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania and “the threat level is high.”
The FBI has announced an investigation and says it is working with local law enforcement authorities.
Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security agents also searched Routh’s former home in Greensboro, North Carolina.
