Ryan Wesley Routh: who is 58-year Oldman and why attacks on Trump?

Ryan Wesley Routh

A 58-year-old man has been arrested by US authorities for firing shots at former President Donald Trump on his golf course in Florida.

According to recent reports, the suspect has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh of North Carolina.

He is suspected to have travelled to Ukraine and sought to enlist fighters in the war. He has a history of driving without a licence as well.

Donald Trump escaped death by golf on Sunday when a gunman opened fire on the former US president at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

This marks the second such incident in two months after an earlier failed attempt on July 13 in Pittsburgh, which was classified by the FBI to be “an attempted assassination of a former president.”

A few minutes after the shooting, Trump, then a Republican presidential candidate, sent email to supporters stating: “The shots are row have been fired but before rumour steam out of control, Feel strongly I want you to hear it from me: I AM SAFE AND WELL!.”

That also will not deter me,” Parks said. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”

In a statement in response to the incident, the White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been informed about Trump’s safety.

There may be no violence in America,” Harris said in a social-media statement.

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz also released a statement via X, saying, (Gwen and I are glad to hear that Donald Trump is OK.

A 58-year-old man believed to be the gunman in the shooting has been arrested by authorities. Though not identified officially, the media named him as Ryan Wesley Routh.

Law enforcement officials stated they took him into custody and found two backpacks and a Go-Pro camera near the area where he fled.

But who is Routh?

So, back to the real question: Why did he shoot them?

Routh’s run-in with the law

Routh, who is from North Carolina and reportedly previously had several run-ins with the law. That included everything from drug possession to driving without a licence or while the MoT was expired, and running a vehicle with no insurance.

Routh had reached for a gun when stopping off from the traffic and ran before barricaded himself in his office at the company, leading to a three-hour standoff during which he was also arrested, according to Greensboro News & Record article from 2002.

Although his LinkedIn profile indicates that he moved to Hawaii in late 2017 or early 2018. While living at the house he started another construction company that his LinkedIn profile says built basic lodgings for homeless people.

His voting record in North Carolina identifies him as an unaffiliated voter — most recently casting a ballot in the state’s Democratic Party primary during March 2024, also voting in person. According to federal campaign finance records, Routh made 19 small political donations totaling $140 since 2019 with his Hawaii address to Act Blue, a PAC that backs Democratic candidates.