The suspect in the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump is a Democratic donor and aspiring mercenary who has vowed to die fighting for Ukraine.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, has also been arrested about 100 times and was involved in a standoff with police in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 2002.
And, crucially, he made the case for assassinating Trump in a book he co-authored.
Books
The New York Times interviewed Rouse in 2023 following an article he wrote in 2022:
I am ready to fly to Krakow, go to the Ukrainian border and volunteer to fight and die.
The Times reported on Sunday:
In a telephone interview with The New York Times in 2023 while in Washington, Rouse spoke with the confidence of a veteran diplomat who believes the plan to support Ukraine's war will definitely succeed.
But he appeared to have little patience for those who got in his way. In a Facebook message shared with The New York Times, when an American foreign fighter spoke condescendingly towards him, Rouse said, “That guy should be shot.”
In an interview, Rouse said he was in Washington to meet for “two hours” with the U.S. Committee on Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as the Helsinki Committee, to urge more aid for Ukraine. The committee is led by members of Congress and staffed by congressional aides. It is an influential group on democracy and security issues and has been a vocal proponent of aid for Ukraine.
Routh also said Ukraine was looking for recruits from among Afghan soldiers fleeing the Taliban, planning to move them from Pakistan and Iran to Ukraine, sometimes illegally, and that dozens had expressed interest.
“Pakistan is a corrupt country so the passport can probably be purchased through Pakistan,” he said.
According to the New York Times, Routh invited North Korea's communist dictator, Kim Jong Un, to Hawaii and offered to help maintain peace between the United States and South Korea.
This strange fact aside, his efforts to help Ukraine have failed miserably, and as reported by The Washington Post, are the subject of a book he co-authored with his fiancée, Kathleen Shafer, titled “Ukraine's Unwinnable War.”
The newspaper reported that Schaffer said he was raising money on GoFundMe to help Routh in 2022. Routh “put his life at home on hold and traveled to Kyiv in April to help the Ukrainian people, where he plans to stay for at least 90 days and is staying in a military unit hostel.”
The blog post claims that Rouse “helped 'send 120 drones to the front lines.'” The fundraiser has raised $1,865 of its $2,500 goal.
In his book, Rouse calls Trump a “fool” and a “clown” and criticizes him for abandoning the nuclear arms deal with Iran.
Ultimately, I share some of the blame for the retarded child who elected us as the next president, but I want to be a man, admit that I made a terrible error and lapse in judgment, and apologize to Iran.
But Routh didn't stop there. He followed up his apology with this advice:
Feel free to assassinate not only me but also Trump for that error of judgment and for breaking the agreement.
Arrest
The Greensboro News & Record reported that around 9 p.m. last night, Secret Service and Homeland Security agents searched Routh's former home in the city.
Rouse, a roofing contractor, remains registered to vote at that address. “Records show he is an unaffiliated voter and most recently voted in the Democratic primary in March,” the paper continued.
According to a LexisNexis search of his name, Routh has had numerous encounters with police going back to 998 and has around 100 arrests…
In 2002, he was involved in a three-hour shootout with police after he was accused of possessing an automatic machine gun and barricaded himself inside the United Roofing Company on Lee Street, where he had previously worked.
He was ultimately charged in that case with carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon of mass destruction, as well as obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest.
Routh has also been plagued by tax issues, with 14 judgments and liens outstanding, according to LexisNexis.
Something must have changed about Routh, the Post noted: In 1991, he won an award for heroism after helping protect a woman from a rapist.
After the assassination attempt
Routh is accused of attempting to assassinate President Trump on Sunday while the former president was playing golf at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Secret Service agents found Routh at about 1:30 p.m., a few holes ahead of Trump, between the fifth and sixth holes. Agents fired shots at Routh, who fled the scene, leaving behind his backpack, a GoPro camera, and, according to media reports, an “assault rifle.”
Witnesses saw Routh flee from investigators and then drive off in a black Nissan, and later identified him to police.
The West Palm Beach sheriff said the Secret Service did not surround the golf course because Trump is not the president.
According to the Post, Routh did not ask why he was arrested.
Although Rouse donated to the Democratic Party, his political beliefs were shaky.
“His more than 500 posts on X expressed a wide range of views from left to right, including support for politicians such as Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard,[Nikki]Haley and Trump,” ABC News reported.
Federal records show 19 ActBlue contributions totaling about $140 were made to candidates who lost in the 2020 Democratic primary, including Tom Steyer, Andrew Yang, Beto O'Rourke and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the New York Post reported.
