What’s known about Ryan Wesley Routh, Trump assassination attempt suspect arrested in Florida

A picture is emerging of Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect who officials say pointed a high-powered rifle from the tree line of a Florida golf course where former President Donald Trump was golfing Sunday afternoon. The FBI and U.S. Secret Service are investigating the incident, which the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”

Routh, 58, appeared in federal court Monday morning on two charges, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. If convicted of both charges, he would face a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Routh was armed with an AK-47-style rifle and was allegedly 300-500 yards away from Trump when a member of the former president’s Secret Service detail spotted his rifle in the tree line, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. (In an affidavit filed the following day, an FBI special agent described the weapon as “a loaded SKS-style, 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope.”) 

The suspect was a few holes ahead of where the president was golfing at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, officials said. The Secret Service said Monday that the suspect did not have a line of sight to Trump.

The Secret Service says the agent opened fire at the suspect, who “did not fire or get off any shots at our agent,” according to acting director Ronald Rowe.

Bradshaw said a witness then saw a man jump out of the bushes and flee in a black Nissan SUV. Officials got the license plate number, and the car was pulled over about 50 miles north of the golf course on I-95. The driver was detained and identified as the suspect. 

Law enforcement found the rifle, a scope, two backpacks with ceramic tile and a GoPro camera in the bushes at the scene, officials said. They said DNA evidence was recovered and is being tested.

According to an affidavit from an FBI agent, data obtained from Routh’s cellphone service provider showed that his phone was in the vicinity of the area along the Trump International tree line for about 12 hours before the encounter, from approximately 1:59 a.m. to approximately 1:31 p.m. Sunday. 

On Tuesday, agents with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations raided Routh’s home on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. A CBS News crew counted at least eight federal agents inside the home.  Sarah Rice, an FBI spokesperson on scene, described the federal activity as “court authorized.”

As the investigation continues, here’s what we know about the suspect:

A decades-long criminal history

Routh told a judge Monday he’s employed and makes about $3,000 a month, but he didn’t provide details about his job. He said he didn’t have any assets. During Monday’s hearing, it was determined that he qualified for a public defender.   

His most recent address is listed in Hawaii, but he spent most of his life in North Carolina, according to property records. Routh owned Camp Box Honolulu, a shed-building company, according to his LinkedIn profile. The account also says that he studied at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and graduated in 1998.

Records show Routh’s issues with the law go back to the 1990s and include lesser charges of writing bad checks. But in 2002 he was charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction, a felony, according to North Carolina Department of Corrections records. In another incident, he was charged with misdemeanors, including a hit-and-run offense, resisting arrest, and a concealed weapons violation, the records show.

But his son, Oren Routh, told CBS News his father wasn’t violent, and he said he was “definitely surprised” by the latest allegations.

“He’s a good person and has been a hard worker his whole life. He’s a great man and good dad, non-violent, and was never abusive. I was definitely surprised this happened. He taught us to work hard and be good people. I haven’t known him to own guns or ever hurt anyone in any way, always tried to help his community in any and every way possible,” Oren Routh said.

Suspect criticized Trump online 

Routh voted Democratic in the 2024 primary election in North Carolina, and he voted in person, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. He appears to be registered as an unaffiliated voter.

His account on X, formerly known as Twitter, has now been suspended, and it included a number of posts about Trump.

“@realDonaldTrump While you were my choice in 2106, 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,” he wrote in a June 2020 post. “I will be glad when you gone.” 

He also referenced the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump in multiple posts, suggesting that President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris should visit the injured and attend the funeral of the Pennsylvania rally-goer who was killed.

A Facebook account under Routh’s name was no longer online on Sunday evening.

Passionate support for Ukraine

A CBS News review of Routh’s social media shows his pro-Ukraine views seeped into his public statements as well. Routh was passionate about supporting Ukraine, even traveling overseas in hopes of fighting in the country’s war against Russia in 2022. 

“I am coming to Ukraine from Hawaii to fight for your kids and families and democracy.. I will come and die for you,” he wrote on X. In a post on LinkedIn, he shared a photo of himself in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. 

But things didn’t appear to work out quite as he expected. In an interview with Newsweek Romania in 2022, he said, “My initial goal was to come fight … but I’m 56, so initially they were like, I have no military experience, so they were like, you’re not an ideal candidate. So they said, not right this minute. So plan B was to come here to Kyiv and promote getting more people here.”

“This is about good versus evil,” he told the outlet in a video interview. 

He urged people, even those who didn’t have military skills, to take up arms for Ukraine, and offered to help connect them with military units. He was interviewed by several news organizations, including The New York Times and Semafor, in 2023.

He told Semafor that he had not been able to convince the Ukrainian Defense Ministry “to issue one single visa” for the soldiers. It’s not clear whether he was actually ever in contact with the ministry about his proposal.

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Unit International Legion said in a statement Monday that Routh never served with them and “has no relation to the unit.”

Routh spoke with CBS News about his Ukraine ambitions

CBS News senior foreign correspondent Holly Williams immediately recognized Routh’s name when she woke up in London on Monday to the news of his arrest. She’d been in contact with him for more than a year in the early stages of the war in Ukraine, which she’s covered extensively. 

It was one of the fliers he helped post around Kyiv, offering to help other foreigners get deployed with Ukrainian battalions, that initially caught Williams’ eye and prompted her to get in touch with him.

They spoke at least once on the phone, and texted frequently. Routh put Williams in touch with several foreign fighters and she said he seemed very genuine and passionate about supporting Ukraine in its battle to fend off Russia’s invasion.

But Williams said Routh, at times, seemed fairly naïve, including when he spoke of his ambition to help bring thousands of Afghan and Syrian fighters into Ukraine to join the war effort.  

The last time Williams heard from Routh was November 2023, when he said he was back in Hawaii.

contributed to this report.