Man detained in apparent assassination attempt criticizes Trump

 The 58-year-old man, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, had voiced criticism of the former US president on 

social media.

A 58-year-old man detained on Sunday in connection with an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Florida is a self-employed affordable housing builder from Hawaii. This individual, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, frequently used social media to comment on politics and current events, occasionally criticizing the former president. Read More

 

Authorities suspect that Routh was planning to attack Trump while he was playing golf. On his X account, Routh referenced the July assassination attempt on Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania and tagged Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in separate posts, urging them to visit those injured at the rally and attend the funeral of a murdered fireman. In a post directed at Harris, he wrote, “You and Biden should visit the injured people in the hospital from the Trump rally and attend the funeral of the murdered fireman. Trump will never do anything for them.”

In an April post on X, tagging President Biden’s official account, he suggested Biden’s campaign should be named “KADAF” (Keep America Democratic and Free), contrasting it with Trump’s campaign, which he labeled “MASA” (Make Americans Slaves Again). He emphasized, “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”

 

In June 2020, Routh indicated that while he had voted for Trump in 2016, he had since withdrawn his support: “While you were my choice in 2016...”

“I and the world hoped President Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we are all greatly disappointed. It seems you are getting worse and devolving,” he wrote. “I will be glad when you’re gone.”

Routh also has connections to North Carolina, where he registered as an “unaffiliated” voter in 2012 and participated in the Democratic primary in March of this year, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. He has donated over $100 to ActBlue, which handles donations for Democratic candidates, as shown in federal campaign finance records.

 

Routh was a vocal supporter of Ukraine, expressing his willingness to die for the cause and advocating for the destruction of the Kremlin in numerous posts on X in 2022. In a March 2022 post, he declared, “I AM WILLING TO FLY TO KRAKOW AND GO TO THE BORDER OF UKRAINE TO VOLUNTEER AND FIGHT AND DIE… Can I be the example? We must win.”

Last year, Routh used his personal Facebook account to encourage foreigners to fight in the war, targeting Afghan conscripts. In October 2023, he presented himself as an unofficial liaison for the Ukrainian government, requesting Afghan soldiers send him copies of their passports for potential enlistment.

Routh’s LinkedIn profile indicates that he founded a company called Camp Box Honolulu in 2018, which specializes in building storage units and tiny houses. According to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser article, he also donated a structure for homeless people.

“Work has never been about money for me; it's about creating frameworks that allow people to thrive and succeed,” Routh wrote on his LinkedIn page. “With a mechanical mindset, I enjoy exploring ideas, invention, and creative projects with an artistic touch.”

The company’s website states that it employs standard, economical, fast, and efficient construction techniques and materials to “address our own challenges right here on the island.”

A Hawaiian man who gave Routh a negative review on Facebook expressed his discomfort with Routh’s response to the criticism. Saili Levi, the owner of a vanilla company, paid Routh $3,800 upfront to build a trailer for his business. However, when Levi visited Routh’s shop to inspect the work, he found it to be substandard.

 

Levi said that when he requested improvements via email, Routh responded with hostility. “He just started ranting, saying, ‘You think because you have money, you’re better than me?’” Levi recounted, noting that Routh also mentioned having traveled to Ukraine to fight against Russia. Levi decided to let the issue go for the sake of his family.

 

Public records from North Carolina also reveal Routh’s legal troubles over the years. In 2002, Routh was arrested after an encounter with police in which he allegedly touched a firearm before barricading himself inside a business, according to a Greensboro News & Record article. Law enforcement confirmed the arrest to CNN on Sunday.

 

Further records show several court cases involving Routh since the 1990s. He has faced multiple accusations of failing to pay taxes on time, including a federal tax lien in 2008 for approximately $32,000. In 1998, he was alleged to have committed an offense related to a “worthless check,” though that case was dismissed.

 

Additionally, judges have ordered him to pay tens of thousands of dollars in various civil suits.

 

Routh’s eldest son, Oran, told CNN via text that Routh was “a loving and caring father, and an honest, hardworking man.” He added, “I don’t know what’s 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 would do anything crazy, much less violent.”

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