Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspected would-be assassin of former President Donald Trump over the weekend, has been confirmed as a registered member of the Democratic Party, according to reports seen by Newsweek.
Routh first registered with the Democratic Party in February 2012, with his voter information describing him as an “active” member. The report, produced by data analytics company Lexis, also identifies Routh as a 58-year-old with 100 criminal filings, almost all of which were filed in North Carolina.
Routh was arrested on Sunday in Florida after Secret Service agents spotted him within 500 yards of Trump with a rifle.
This screengrab taken from AFPTV on September 16 shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organizations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol in central Kyiv on April 27, 2022, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images
After the agents opened fire at him, Routh fled the golf course, leaving behind his firearm, a scope, two bags and a GoPro camera. He was later detained by police 37 miles from the golf course while driving in a black Nissan.
A social media profile believed to belong to Routh indicates that he strongly supported Ukraine’s effort to fight the Russian invasion and reportedly traveled to Ukraine immediately after the conflict started in 2022.
Newsweek contacted the White House, the Kamala Harris campaign and the Democratic National Committee for comment.
Routh has been a long-standing campaigner against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to the point where claims to have fought in Ukraine at one point during the conflict.
In a June 2022 interview with Newsweek Romania, Routh spoke about his efforts to recruit volunteers for the International Legion Defense of Ukraine, a unit of Ukraine’s Ground Forces.
“The question as far as why I’m here…to me, a lot of the other conflicts are gray, but this conflict is definitely black and white,” Routh said. “This is about good versus evil. This is a storybook, you know, any movie we’ve ever watched, this is definitely evil against good.”
Authorities have not yet established a motive for the alleged assassination plan against Trump, the Republican presidential nominee running against Vice President Harris.
Speaking to CNN, the suspect’s son, Oran Routh, described him as “a loving and caring father” and an “honest hard-working man.”
“I don’t know what has happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion, because from the little I’ve heard, it doesn’t sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violent.”
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