Records show that the man who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday has made multiple political donations to the Democrats.
Police identified the suspect as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh.
According to reports, Routh’s social media posts indicate that he’s a “massive Trump hater.”
Authorities say that Routh managed to get about 400 to 500 yards away from Trump and hidden in shrubbery while the 45th president played golf at a nearby hole.
Fox News reported, citing “two law enforcement sources,” that Routh was taken into custody by Martin County officials after fleeing the scene.
Routh reportedly shot at Trump but missed his target.
A Secret Service agent reportedly spotted a gun muzzle emerging from shrubbery on Trump’s golf course in Palm Beach, Florida.
The gunman was just a few holes ahead of where Trump was playing.
The agent immediately opened fire, prompting Routh to flee before being apprehended.
A rifle and a scope, two backpacks, and a GoPro video camera device were recovered at the scene, Palm Beach County sheriff Ric Bradshaw said in a news conference.
According to records, Routh lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving to Kaʻaʻawa, Hawaii, in 2018, the Associated Press reported.
In Hawaii, he and his son appeared to operate a company building sheds, according to an archived version of the business webpage.
Posts on X have shared details from Routh’s social media accounts.
One X user revealed that Routh has been posting “about his HATRED” for Trump.
🚨 #BREAKING: Trump sh**ter Ryan Routh is a UKRAINE LOYALIST who has posted on social media about his HATRED for President Trump and supplying soldiers to Kyiv
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 15, 2024
THE DEMOCRATS’ RHETORIC DID THIS! pic.twitter.com/yZvgtmM8x5
Voter records show Routh most recently voted in person during North Carolina’s Democratic Party primary in March 2024.
Campaign finance records show Routh has made 19 small political donations to Democrat candidates since 2019.
The donations total around $140.
Routh made the donations via ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democrat candidates.
Court records show that Routh was convicted of possessing a machine gun in 2002, NBC News reports.
A local news report from North Carolina in that year details how a man named Ryan Routh led authorities on a vehicle chase before holing himself up at a roofing company.
The man was eventually arrested without incident and later charged with carrying a concealed gun and possession of a “weapon of mass destruction,” Greensboro News & Record reports.
In relation to the incident at Trump’s golf course on Sunday, Routh’s son has told CNN that “everything has been blown out of proportion.”
Oran Routh claims it would be unlike his father to “do anything crazy*, much less violent.”
“Ryan is my father, and I don’t have any comment beyond a character profile of him as a loving and caring father, and honest, hardworking man,” he added.
“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’s a good father and a great man, and I hope you can portray him in an honest light.”
On Sunday afternoon, the Trump campaign released a statement to say the 45th president was “safe following gunshots in his vicinity.”
It is believed he was taking part in a round at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach at the time the shots were heard.
The FBI later confirmed it was investigating what “appears to be an attempted assassination of former president Trump.”
Palm Beach County Sheriff Bradshaw said the Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel coming out of a perimeter fence surrounding the course.
The agent spotted the gunman while he was patrolling the course ahead of Trump.
“He immediately engaged that individual, at which time the individual took off,” Bradshaw said.
Officials said it remains unclear whether the suspect fired first – or fired at all – or whether only the Secret Service fired.
A witness spotted a man, believed to be Routh, fleeing the scene in a black Nissan SUV.
The witness managed to take photos of the car and plate.
Police then alerted the neighbouring Martin County Sheriff’s Office which pulled over the vehicle and detained the suspect.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told reporters his officers followed the suspect vehicle for a while before making a “felony stop.”
“Our road units picked the vehicle up and we waited a while,” he said.
“We didn’t stop him right away.
“We didn’t want a high-speed chase.
“So we were able to wait until we had adequate units, surrounded the vehicle, and forced it to a stop.”
A witness said he saw “20 or more cop cars flying from nearby streets” as he described the emergency response outside Trump’s golf course.
“From what I saw, five black unmarked SUVs blocked in a grey Mercedes in front of the golf course,” Max Egusquiza told the AP news agency.
“There were about 20 or more cop cars flying from nearby streets,” he said.
Snyder told WPTV that Routh was “not armed” when he was taken out of the car.
He said he had a calm, flat demeanour and showed little emotion when he was stopped.
“The suspect did not question why he was being pulled over,” Mr Snyder said.
Palm Beach County’s state attorney Dave Aronberg later told MSNBC that Routh was “lying in wait” for Trump.
Routh also aimed at the Secret Service until the agent fired at him, Aronberg revealed.
Aronberg said Routh was “pretty quiet” and “pretty compliant” with officers when they pulled him over and isn’t sure if he has said anything since he was taken into custody.
However, Aronberg said Routh would have to fire a shot in order for him to be charged with attempted assassination.
Trump was taken back to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach after the incident.
He later said in a fundraising email that he was safe.
“There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumours start spiralling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” the email said.
“Nothing will slow me down.
“I will NEVER SURRENDER!
“I will always love you for supporting me.
“Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again.
“May God bless you.”
Is this evidence the Trump assassin was a CIA asset?
— Ian Carroll (@Cancelcloco) September 16, 2024
It’s still early, don’t jump to any conclusions.
I’m just out here doing the FBIs job for them because we all know Chris Ray busy prepping the cover up as we speak.
Shoutout @SomeBitchIIKnow for the archives pic.twitter.com/K3jARUWDYh
