After the second assassination attempt on Trump, numerous right-wing extremist conspiracies are circulating | Donald Trump

After a man apparently obsessed with the war in Ukraine was arrested on Sunday for allegedly attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, rumors and conspiracy theories circulated online linking Democrats to the two assassination attempts on the former president during the ongoing election campaign.

Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect charged on Monday with weapons offenses, has previously given media interviews about his efforts to recruit volunteer fighters, particularly from Afghanistan, to help Ukraine in its war against Russia. Routh also apparently self-published an e-book about Ukraine in which he said, according to media reports, that Iran was “free to assassinate Trump as well as me.”

As details of his passion for Ukraine emerged, some far-right extremists claimed that Routh may have ties to the U.S. military. Some went even further, claiming that the arrested suspect may have been part of a larger conspiracy. There is no evidence of either – and none of those spreading the rumors have provided any evidence.

“What are the chances that this gunman, who spent months fighting in Ukraine, has no ties to anyone in the U.S. military or intelligence community?” wrote Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, on X. “Find them.”

Questions about how Routh knew Trump would be playing golf that day, since the round was not publicly scheduled, led to speculation that those tasked with protecting the president may have been involved in the attempt. The former president praised the Secret Service after the apparently foiled shooting.

Another conspiracy theory claims that Routh appeared in a video for investment firm BlackRock. Footage circulating with the claim shows him at a protest in Ukraine, though the video has nothing to do with the firm, the company said, adding that Routh “has never been an employee of BlackRock nor has he appeared in any BlackRock advertisement.”

The theory sought to link Routh to Thomas Crooks, the gunman in the first assassination attempt on Trump in July, who appeared in a BlackRock commercial while he was a student at Bethel Park High School in Pennsylvania. “This means BOTH were featured in the commercial for asset management firm Global Wealth,” an X-account with nearly 600,000 followers posted alongside a video featuring Routh. “THESE ARE NOT COINCIDENTS [sic]. They love their symbolism.”

Routh spoke to the New York Times in 2023 and the Guardian in 2022 about reports of volunteers going to Ukraine to help. The New York Times reporter who spoke to him wrote on Sunday that “it was clear he had completely overreached himself” and had no way of following through on his plans to recruit Afghan soldiers for the mission. His interviews in the Times and other media outlets long before the shooting led to further speculation.

“Now we see Ryan Routh, who attempted to assassinate President Trump today at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, was profiled by the New York Times @nytimes in 2023, and worked with the US Foreign Legion in Ukraine, which has ties to the CIA,” wrote far-right conspiracy theorist and Trump ally Laura Loomer on X. “The Deep State runs deep!”

Loomer also pointed to the recent cover of Time magazine, which shows Trump on a golf cart stuck in a sand pit with the text “In Trouble,” saying, “Coincidence? Or coordination?”

“Did you have advance knowledge of the assassination attempt on President Trump today at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida?!” Loomer wrote.

Beyond the conspiracy theories, others on the right have accused Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Democrats in general of using rhetoric that they say has brought criticism on Trump. The Republican presidential candidate himself said that “Comrade Kamala Harris” had made statements that had “taken politics in our country to a whole new level of hate, abuse and distrust.”

“Because of this communist left rhetoric the bullets are flying and it will only get worse!”

On Fox News on Monday, Trump used heated rhetoric, calling Democrats like Harris the “enemy from within.”

“These are people who want to destroy our country,” he said. “They are called the enemy from within. They are the real threat.”

Elon Musk, the owner of X, wrote on the platform on Sunday: “And no one is trying to kill Biden/Kamala.” He later deleted the tweet and claimed it was a joke, saying that “jokes are MUCH less funny when people don't know the context and they're just delivered in plain language.”

The New Hampshire Libertarian Party went even further, writing on X: “Anyone who assassinates Kamala Harris would be an American hero.”