Why was Donald Trump's near-assassin Ryan Routh kicked out of X and Facebook after his assassination attempt?

The X.com and Facebook accounts of Ryan Routh, the man suspected of a second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, were both suspended shortly after his arrest by authorities on Sunday.

Why exactly? That's still unclear as of Monday morning, as neither X.com nor Meta, Facebook's parent company, could provide an explanation for why the public can't read his past posts. TheWrap has reached out to both companies for comment, as well as a possible timeline for when his posts might be available again, but has not received a response.

Routh's account was most likely suspended by X.com for violating the company's policy on “perpetrators of violent attacks.” The policy, which you can read here, states:

“We will delete all accounts maintained by individual perpetrators of terrorist, extremist or mass violence, as well as all accounts that glorify the perpetrator(s) or that share manifestos and/or links to third-party sites that host related content. We may also delete posts that distribute manifestos or other content created by perpetrators.”

Neither X.com owner Elon Musk nor CEO Linda Yaccarino have commented on the company's decision to suspend Routh's account.

“The man is obviously insane and easily swayed by the media's incessant calls for Trump's death,” Musk said Monday morning in response to a post about a book written by Routh.

In the book, titled Ukraine's Unwinnable War, Routh claims that Iran could “assassinate Trump as well as me” because the U.S. is “abandoning” the nuclear deal with the country. In the same paragraph, Routh also calls Trump a “retarded child.”

Routh's previous account is still visible on Facebook, but his posts cannot be read.

Some internet sleuths recorded Routh's X.com posts before his account was suspended. You can see them below:

In a June 2020 tweet tagging Trump, Routh said he voted for the former president in 2016 but that he was “getting worse and regressing; are you retarded? I'll be glad when you're gone.”

Routh, 58, was arrested by authorities on Sunday after allegedly pointing his rifle through a fence 300 to 500 feet away from the former president at the Trump International golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

On Monday, he was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a weapon with an obscured serial number. Routh could face more serious charges as the investigation progresses, the Associated Press reported.

The post “Why Was Donald Trump’s Near-Assassin Ryan Routh Kicked Off X and Facebook After His Assassination Attempt?” appeared first on TheWrap.