Authorities Begin Probing Life Of Suspect In Apparent Assassination Attempt Against Trump

Authorities identified the suspect behind an apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump as Ryan Routh, a 58-year-old who lived in Hawaii, according to multiple reports Sunday night.

Secret Service agents tasked with protecting Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, said they fired shots toward an armed man Sunday afternoon. Trump was on the course when agents spotted a person hiding in the bushes and the muzzle of an AK-style weapon sticking through the greenery several hundred yards from where Trump was playing, local authorities said.

An agent fired toward the man, who dropped his weapon and fled in an SUV, authorities said. He was apprehended in a neighboring county and taken into custody.

Multiple outlets identified the suspected gunman as Routh, citing anonymous officials. The Associated Press reports he lived in North Carolina before moving to Kaaawa, Hawaii, in 2018, where he and his son ran a company that built sheds.

The New York Times added it spoke to Routh for a story about the ongoing war in Ukraine in 2023 and how Americans in the U.S. hoped to volunteer to aid the country’s defense against Russia. Routh told the paper at the time he had traveled to the region and hoped to recruit Afghan soldiers to help fight for Ukraine.

“In my opinion everyone should be there supporting the Ukrainians,” he told Times reporter Thomas Gibbons-Neff last year.

Social media accounts that appeared to belong to Routh were frequently peppered with posts about the war and at times encouraged Trump to take action on other matters while he was in office. He also expressed support for former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), who was running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020,