A former FBI agent told Fox News Digital that there was a “clear element of mental illness” behind the motives of the would-be assassin Ryan Routh in targeting former President Donald Trump on September 15.
Before being charged with two firearms-related offences in a Florida court on Monday, Routh, 58, had more than 100 contacts with police between the 1980s and 2010.
His past charges range from writing bad checks to felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen vehicle, and multiple charges of possession of a weapon of mass destruction in 2002 (specifically a “binary bomb with a 10-inch warhead”).[ch] Detonation cord and detonator.”
Scott Duffy, a former FBI senior special agent, told Fox News Digital that Routh's frequent clashes with police, combined with his social media persona, show he is “someone who is constantly trying to provoke people to see how they respond.”
Watch on FOX NATION: The Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump
Ryan W. Routh, the man accused of trying to assassinate former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a golf course in West Palm Beach, stands in handcuffs after being arrested on a traffic ticket near Palm City, Florida, on Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff's Office/Distributed via Reuters)
“Not only does he have a lengthy arrest record, it spans decades,” Duffy said, “but there are escalating violent offenses and of course contacts with police, including driving without a license. These aren't violent offenses, but they are constant contacts with police. So, while we don't know what was going through his mind over the last few decades, we can tell you that he wanted contact with police.”
Duffy's assessment is consistent with the experience of local police in Guilford County, North Carolina, where Routh previously lived. Eric Lasseke, a former officer with the Greensboro Police Department, told Fox News Digital: [Routh] It gets quoted multiple times a week.”
Trump assassination attempt: FBI tip to Ryan Routh highlights challenges of screening requests, former agent says
“Routh's attitude was that he was better than everybody else; he could do whatever he wanted,” Laseke said. “None of that mattered. He had a very strong sense of entitlement. … He paid lip service to how he could get away with it, how he owned a successful business, and nobody could do anything to him.” [how] He knew everybody in Greensboro.”
In 2002, Routh barricaded himself inside a roofing company, United Roofing, with a semi-automatic rifle after being stopped by police. The incident lasted approximately three hours before Routh turned himself in and was arrested without incident. Greensboro News & Record It was reported at the time.
In addition to a divorce and multiple civil judgments after contractors and individuals sued his roofing company. NBC NewsRouth had several run-ins with police in 2003, including for traffic offences.
FBI investigation into Trump assassination attempt 'full force' is being deployed, says Wray
A full view of gaps in vegetation by the fence between the fifth and sixth holes at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The holes are near where the gun believed to have been used by Ryan Routh in the suspected assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was found. (Mega from Fox News Digital)
Mr Duffy suggested Routh's sentence could be deferred due to mental health concerns and that he could be placed in an intensive treatment programme in lieu of prosecution.
“It tells us something happened as a result of that incident. [where Routh barricaded himself in 2002]”Whether he was psychotic or not, something was going on in his head,” Duffy said. “It'll be interesting to see if he turned himself in, if there was in fact any weapon, and why he's out a year later.”
“We understand that there are mental health issues in this case and that he is someone who has had a history of significant contact with police,” Duffy continued. “For example, the incident with the concealed gun and driving without a license – was he deliberately trying to play a game of cat and mouse with the police?”
Ryan Routh, the suspected assassin of former President Donald Trump, was seen being taken into custody on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in body camera footage released Monday. (Martin County Sheriff's Office)
Routh had made numerous political posts on X, and before Sunday's assassination attempt he had called Trump a “clown,” “idiot” and “fool” and wrote that he had supported Trump in 2016 but had come to believe that decision was a “terrible mistake.”
Routh said Iran was “free to Assassinate Trump I take responsibility for that error of judgment.”
He also wrote that he would “volunteer to fight and die” to help. Ukrainian Army On the front lines.
According to a New York Times report, Routh was a pro-Ukrainian activist who had volunteered in Eastern Europe to rally support for Ukraine's military effort and had also sought out Afghan veterans who had fled the Taliban to fight in the country's war.
Timeline of the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump: Suspect Ryan Routh grows angry and extremist
A courtroom sketch of Ryan Routh in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Routh is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Routh is a suspect in an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. (Lothar Speer)
“Whether you say something meaningful or something nonsense, that's freedom of speech. [But] I watch a lot [social media] “In many past mass shootings, these rhetoric has been incoherent,” Duffy told Fox News Digital.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“This guy is not unique,” Duffy continued. “My hope is that after he's convicted of something, he'll be able to sit down and invite the police in in his head and say, 'Hey, this is what's going on, this is what triggered it for me, and there are other people out there just like me.'” [Then] Law Enforcement and Mental Health [professionals] Lessons can be learned [that] And try to do something to pay a little more attention to something.”
Routh's lawyer could not be reached for comment.
