According to reports, Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the attempted assassination of former President Trump, tried to organize a unit of foreign fighters to help Ukraine repel Russia but was rejected by local volunteer groups, and people involved in the effort described Routh as having “delusions of grandeur” and a “savior complex.”
Routh, 58, travelled to Ukraine in March 2023 to support the country's war effort but was quickly dismissed as a “kook” and “eccentric” by other foreign fighters serving Ukraine, a volunteer work source said. New York Post.
“He's a crazy idiot, but it doesn't surprise anybody,” said one American, who spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity for fear of Russian leaks. “These people show up desperate to help and to be important, and he was definitely one of them. He was just at the craziest end of things.”
“We were shocked,” said Evelyn Aschenbrenner, an American who served with the International Legion in Ukraine. USA Today She, too, said in an interview that she sensed something was off about Routh.
Former neighbor of Trump assassination suspect says family was 'weird' and 'kept horses in the house'
Ryan Routh is accused of aiming an SKS-style rifle at a golf course where former President Donald Trump was playing in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday. This is being investigated as a second assassination attempt against Trump. (Source: Fox News Digital)
“The atmosphere I sensed was one of religious fanaticism and delusion,” Aschenbrenner said.
When Aschenbrenner learned that Routh had been arrested on Sunday for allegedly ambushing President Trump in the bushes at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida with an SKS-style rifle, he told the outlet simply, “That's right.”
Body camera footage released on Monday showed Ryan Routh, the suspect in an attempted assassination attempt against President Trump, being taken into custody on Sunday. (Martin County Sheriff's Office)
Routh was indicted on federal weapons charges Monday. Financial Times Last year, the International Legion in Ukraine rejected him because he was “old” and lacked battlefield expertise, and he told media he was offered to help with “recruitment and coordination” instead.
Routh was indicted on federal weapons charges on Monday for his role in the assassination attempt on former President Trump, the second attempt to assassinate a former president in just over two months. (Martin County Sheriff's Office/Distributed via Reuters)
But the volunteer force reportedly has no ties to Routh, who has long denied that he recruited foreign fighters alone.
Trump assassination attempt: Among investigators' four key questions is suspect's possible 'personal vendetta'
Sources told The Post that Routh further irritated his troops by trying to “recruit” former Afghan special forces personnel for Ukraine on his own.
Pictured above is Routh's most recent arrest photo, taken in 2010. (Guilford County Sheriff's Office)
Aschenbrenner recalled to USA Today a text message exchange between her and Routh in which he sent her a list of “5,000 to 6,000 Afghan names” who might take up arms for Ukraine.
“Who vetted them? Do they even have passports? Do they have military experience?” Aschenbrenner recalled. “I have no authority to tell people about recruitment.”
Another Legion member told The Post that Routh has a “savior complex” and that his illegal activities are ultimately hurting Ukraine.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“This would not be good for aid to Ukraine, but I don't know to what extent,” the congressman said.
