The 58-year-old man accused of pointing an AK-47 at former President Donald Trump on Sunday afternoon has an extensive arrest record spanning decades.
Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested shortly after the incident at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. Authorities said a Secret Service agent shot Routh after seeing him point an AK-47 through a chain-link fence one hole away from where Trump was playing.
Authorities are treating the incident as an assassination attempt on President Trump.
A background check on the man authorities gave, Ryan Wesley Routh, revealed he currently lives in Hawaii and has had dozens of run-ins with police dating back to at least the 1990s.
Routh is a North Carolina native whose arrests there include possession of a narcotic drug, driving without a license, expired vehicle inspection and driving without insurance, and the Greensboro News & Record reported in 2002 that Routh was arrested after fleeing with a gun after being stopped for a traffic violation and barricading himself in the offices of a roofing company during a three-hour standoff.
Trump campaign claims it's safe even if they hear gunfire nearby
A sheriff's vehicle is parked near the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, after gunshots were reported near former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Stephanie Mattatto)
Records show that Rouse moved to Hawaii in 2017. He later started another construction company in Hawaii that builds makeshift housing for homeless people, according to a LinkedIn page that appears to belong to him.
“This is not a stranger with an AK-47 walking around outside one of Trump's clubs,” the official said after the incident Sunday afternoon.
FILE: President Donald Trump's motorcade arrives at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on February 15, 2020.
News of the incident broke shortly after President Trump was escorted safely off the golf course.
Members of the Secret Service spotted the shooter while Trump was playing the fifth hole at the course, and authorities said he left an AK-47, a GoPro camera and two backpacks along a chain-link fence adjacent to the course's sixth hole.
Authorities said Routh fled in an SUV after Secret Service agents fired shots at him, but he was quickly arrested.
Trump's campaign quickly issued a statement saying the 45th president was safe, and Trump sent a message to his supporters that he would “never surrender.”
Fox News reporter Lucas Tomlinson confirmed that the Secret Service opened fire after seeing the man raise an AK-47. Authorities said the suspect fled in a vehicle but was quickly arrested.
“I heard gunshots near me, but before rumors spread and things get out of control, I want you to hear this first: I am safe and well!” He wrote In a message shared on social media
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“Nothing will stop me. I will never give in!,” he continued. “I love you all always for supporting me. Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again. God Bless.”
This is a developing story….
