A man accused of trying to kill former President Donald Trump at his South Florida golf club has been named.
The suspect is 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh. He was found with an AK-47, two backpacks, and a GoPro hidden in bushes near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
Routh has a criminal record dating back over two decades. In 2002, he barricaded himself with a weapon at a roofing company in North Carolina, where he used to work. He was later sentenced for several crimes, including felony possession of stolen goods.
Originally from North Carolina, Routh has been living in Hawaii since 2018. He had been involved in building affordable structures to combat homelessness there. Routh was also an unaffiliated voter who had previously supported Trump, though he expressed disappointment with the former president.
“I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving; are you retarded; I will be glad when you gone,” Routh posted.
In addition to his legal troubles, Routh has claimed to have spent time in Ukraine during the war with Russia and attempted to recruit Afghan soldiers to fight in Ukraine. He now faces federal charges after being detained along Interstate 95.
