What is known about Ryan Wesley Routh, the Trump assassination suspect arrested in Florida

A picture of Ryan Wesley Routh appears, the suspect who, according to authorities, aimed a high-powered rifle from the tree line of a golf course in Florida where former President Donald Trump was golfing on Sunday afternoon. The FBI and the US Secret Service are investigating the incident, which the FBI described as “a attempted murder of former President Trump.”

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

Routh was armed with an AK-47 rifle and was reportedly 300-500 yards from Trump when a member of the former president's Secret Service 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 rifle, caliber 7.62 x 39 with telescopic sight.”)

The suspect was a few holes short of the president's golf course at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, officials said. The Secret Service said Monday the suspect did not have a visual line of sight with Trump.

The Secret Service said the agent opened fire on the suspect, but the suspect “did not fire or discharge any shots at our agent,” said Deputy Director Ronald Rowe.

Bradshaw said a witness then saw a man jump out of the bushes and flee in a black Nissan SUV. Officers took down the license plate number and the car was stopped about 50 miles north of the golf course on I-95. The driver was arrested and identified as a suspect.

Police found the rifle, a scope, two backpacks containing ceramic tiles and a GoPro camera in the bushes at the crime scene, officials said. They said DNA evidence was recovered and is currently being examined.

According to an FBI agent's affidavit, data from Routh's cell phone provider showed that his phone was near the treeline area of ​​Trump International Airport about 12 hours before the encounter, from about 1:59 a.m. to about 1:31 p.m. Sunday.

As the investigation continues, we learn the following about the suspect:

A decades-long criminal history

Routh told a judge Monday he is employed and makes about $3,000 a month, but he did not provide details about his job. He said he has no assets. During Monday's hearing, it was determined he is entitled to a public defender.

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

Records show Routh's troubles with the law date back to the 1990s and include less serious charges such as writing bad checks. But in 2002, he was charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction, which is a felony, according to North Carolina Department of Corrections records. In another case, he was charged with minor misdemeanors, including hit-and-run, resisting arrest and a violation of the prohibition on carrying concealed weapons, records show.

Suspect criticized Trump online

Routh voted Democratic in North Carolina's 2024 primary and 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 since been suspended and contained a number of posts about Trump.

“@realDonaldTrump Even though you were my choice in 2016, I and the world hoped President Trump would be different and better than the nominee, but we were all very disappointed and it seems you are getting worse and regressing,” he wrote in a June 2020 post. “I'll be glad when you're gone.”

He also referred to the Assassination attempt on 13 July In several posts, he turned against Trump and suggested that President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris should visit the injured and attend the funeral of the slain Pennsylvania rally participant.

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

Passionate support for Ukraine

A CBS News review of Routh's social media shows that his pro-Ukrainian views also flowed into his public statements. Routh was an ardent supporter of Ukraine and even traveled abroad in the hopes of fighting in Ukraine. War against Russia in 2022.

“I am coming to Ukraine from Hawaii to fight for your children 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, the capital of Ukraine.

But things didn't seem to be going quite as he expected. In an interview with Newsweek Romania in 2022, he said: “My initial goal was to fight… but I'm 56, so initially they said I had no military experience, so they said I wasn't an ideal candidate. So they said, not at the moment. So plan B was to come here to Kyiv and campaign to bring more people here.”

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

He called on people, even those without military skills, to take up arms for Ukraine and offered to put them in touch with military units. He was interviewed by several news organizations in 2023, including the New York Times and Semafor.

He told Semafor that he had not been able to convince the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to issue “a single visa” for the soldiers. It is unclear whether he ever even contacted the ministry about his proposal.

The Ukrainian defense intelligence service International Legion said in a statement on Monday that Routh had never served with them and “has no connection whatsoever with the unit.”

Routh spoke to CBS News about his ambitions in Ukraine

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

It was one of the flyers he put up in Kyiv, offering to help other foreigners get deployed to Ukrainian battalions. The flyer first caught Williams' eye and prompted her to contact him.

They spoke on the phone at least once and texted each other frequently. Routh introduced Williams in contact with several foreign fighters She said he seemed very sincere and passionate about supporting Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

But Williams said Routh sometimes seemed quite naive, such as when he talked about his ambition to bring thousands of Afghan and Syrian fighters to Ukraine to join the war effort there.

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

Pat Milton and Manuel Bojorquez contributed to this report.