Investigators are questioning a Greensboro, North Carolina, man in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
This comes nine weeks after Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Ryan Wesley Routh of Greensboro is in custody after the Secret Service spotted a gun barrel pointed at the former president while he was playing golf at his course in Florida.
Who is Ryan Routh?
Routh, 58, has an extensive criminal history in North Carolina that includes convictions between 2002 and 2010 of felony possession of weapons of mass destruction and possession of stolen goods and misdemeanors carrying a concealed gun, hit and run and resisting law enforcement, among other charges.
Routh states on LinkedIn that he has moved to Hawaii.
“Having passed along any meager remnants of myself in North Carolina and relocated to Oahu, I currently build very simple housing structures for the less fortunate and pursue a wide range of other creative projects towards developing unique products and devices as well as community improvement projects,” Routh wrote on his LinkedIn page.
Routh remains active in North Carolina’s voter rolls as an unaffiliated voter. In North Carolina, unaffiliated voters can choose which primary they want to vote in. Routh chose Democrats when he voted this spring.
Routh has also made small donations through ActBlue throughout the 2024 election cycle. ActBlue is an online platform used by Democrats for fundraising.
Routh spent years in NC
Routh studied Mechanical Engineering at N.C. A&T from 1995 to 1998, according to LinkedIn. In 1990 he registered Routh Roofing in Greensboro with the N.C. Secretary of State’s office.
He’s also known to have worked for United Roofing. It was there he fled Greensboro police in 2002 after a traffic stop and, with a gun in his hand, barricaded himself inside the business, according to The News & Record. He had a fully automatic machine gun, the newspaper reported.
Routh was interviewed in 2022 by Newsweek Romania and in 2023 by The New York Times for helping to recruit civilian volunteers to help Ukraine fight in the war against Russia.
“If governments won’t send their official military, then we civilians have to pick up the torch and make this happen,” Routh told Newsweek.
Assassination attempt
Secret Service is reported to have fired at the attempted shooter after spotting his weapon, an AK-47. The man ran, leaving behind two backpacks and a GoPro camera in the bushes of the golf course. A witness took photographs of his black Nissan, with his license plate, which led investigators to Routh.
Trump was not hurt.
In June, just days before the Republican National Convention, Trump held a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired at Trump striking his ear. Snipers returned fire killing Crooks instantly.
The incident in Pennsylvania led to the resignation of the Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle and the formation of a Congressional committee to investigate how someone was able to get that close to Trump with a gun.
Trump’s schedule Sunday was not public, and it’s not clear how the attempted assassin knew where he would be.
Trump is scheduled to be in Wilmington on Saturday for a rally.
North Carolina reacts
North Carolina’s Congressional delegation was quick to react to news about Trump.
Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from Southern Pines and chairman of the Republican National Congressional Committee, thanked the Secret Service for quickly responding, calling them brave.
Sen. Thom Tillis wrote that he was grateful for the quick response from law enforcement who apprehend the suspect.
Many offered prayers to Trump. Others thanked God for his safety.
“Political violence is a threat to our democracy — there is no place for this in America,” said Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat from Wake County.
“I’m relieved that President Trump is safe and unharmed,” wrote Rep. Greg Murphy, a Republican from Greenville. “My prayers are with him and his family. Sadly enough, there are deranged individuals in this world, and threats of violence against public officials are despicable.”
Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from Banner Elk, wrote that she was thankful that Trump was safe and unharmed.
“We need answers immediately,” Foxx wrote. “Anything less is unacceptable.”
Charlotte Observer reporter Gavin Off contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 15, 2024 7:31 PM.