Who is Ryan Wesley Routh, suspect in Trump assassination attempt?

Ryan Wesley Routh has been identified by US media arsenic a fishy pursuing the evident assassination effort connected US Republican statesmanlike campaigner Donald Trump successful Florida.

Mr Routh, 58, is from North Carolina primitively and spent astir of his beingness there, according to spot records, but has astir precocious lived successful Hawaii.

His known enactment paints a mixed representation of his politics, and helium appears to person felt powerfully astir Ukraine's warfare effort. He has besides had a fig of ineligible issues.

Here are immoderate of the different things we cognize astir him.

He is suspected of going to the Trump International Golf Course successful Florida connected Sunday, equipped with an AK-47-style rifle. The FBI recovered the limb and scope, 2 backpacks and a GoPro camera from the bush wherever the fishy hid.

Although Routh managed to flight successful his car, helium appears to person been spotted by a witnesser who took a photograph of the achromatic Nissan helium was driving.

An urgent alert was enactment retired for the car. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said 2 officers picked up Mr Routh's conveyance 45 minutes aft the weapon was spotted astatine the play course, and followed it.

He was yet stopped connected Interstate 95 and taken into custody.

BBC Verify has recovered societal media profiles matching Mr Routh's name. They bespeak that helium called for overseas fighters to spell to Ukraine to conflict against Russian forces.

“I americium coming to Ukraine from Hawaii to combat for your kids and families and democracy.. I volition travel and dice for you,” a station connected X reads, according to the BBC's US partner, CBS News.

There are besides pro-Palestinian, pro-Taiwan and anti-China messages connected his profile, including allegations astir Chinese “biological warfare” and references to the Covid-19 microorganism arsenic an “attack”.

CBS reported that Mr Routh supported President Trump astatine 1 point, penning successful a station connected X that the Republican was "my prime successful 2016", but that helium was "getting worse and devolving" and continuing: "I volition beryllium gladsome erstwhile you [are] gone.”

Mr Routh has besides been seen online urging President Joe Biden and Vice-President Harris to conscionable victims of a shooting successful Butler, Pennsylvania, erstwhile different effort was made connected Trump's beingness successful July.

Mr Routh told the New York Times successful 2023 that helium wanted to assistance the warfare effort successful Ukraine, and was seeking to enlistee Afghan soldiers who had fled the Taliban.

In a telephone interrogation with the paper, helium said dozens of soldiers were funny and that helium planned to determination them from Pakistan and Iran to Ukraine, successful immoderate cases illegally.

“We tin astir apt acquisition immoderate passports done Pakistan, since it’s specified a corrupt country,” helium said.

Routh besides told the paper astatine the clip that helium was successful Washington to conscionable with the US Commission connected Security and Cooperation successful Europe to assistance propulsion for much enactment for Ukraine.

Routh appears to person been engaged successful recruitment efforts arsenic precocious arsenic July.

One Facebook station from July work successful part: “Soldiers, delight bash not telephone me. We are inactive trying to get Ukraine to judge Afghan soldiers and anticipation to person immoderate answers successful the coming months… delight person patience.”

Ukraine's International Legion of overseas volunteers has denied having immoderate links, and different Ukrainian officials person distanced themselves from him. President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned governmental violence.

"Playing with occurrence has its consequences," said Russian authorities spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, successful comments quoted by the Reuters quality agency.

Records amusement Mr Routh’s ineligible issues spell backmost to the 1990s, including lesser charges penning atrocious cheques, according to CBS.

Mr Routh was charged and convicted of galore felony offences successful Guilford County successful North Carolina betwixt 2002 and 2010, CBS reported.

In 2002, helium was charged with possession of a limb of wide destruction. In different incident, records amusement him being charged with misdemeanours including a hit-and-run, resisting arrest, and a concealed weapons violation.

His alleged offences besides see driving with a revoked licence, possession of stolen property, and hit-and-run with a centrifugal vehicle.

Former neighbour Kim Mungo, who describes Mr Routh arsenic a "sweetheart", said national agents erstwhile raided Mr Routh's property.

She alleged that helium utilized to support "loads of stolen spot and stuff" astatine his home. And she said she saw Routh and his household firing guns successful the open.

CBS reported Mr Routh voted Democratic and successful idiosyncratic during the party's 2024 superior successful North Carolina, according to the state's Board of Elections.

He is reportedly registered arsenic an unaffiliated voter, contempt the societal media station saying helium had backed Trump successful 2016.

Mr Routh's lad has described him arsenic “a loving and caring father, and honorable hardworking man".

His eldest son, Oran, spoke to CNN via substance message, saying: “I don’t cognize what’s happened successful Florida, and I anticipation things person conscionable been blown retired of proportion, due to the fact that from the small I’ve heard it doesn’t dependable similar the antheral I cognize to bash thing crazy, overmuch little violent.”

Mr Routh remains successful custody and nary authoritative charges person yet been filed against him. He is expected to look successful beforehand of a justice aboriginal connected Monday astatine the Palm Beach County courthouse adjacent Mar-a-Lago.

It is unclear if helium really fired his limb during the incident.

“We are not definite close present if the idiosyncratic was capable to instrumentality a changeable astatine our agents, but for definite our agents were capable to prosecute with the suspect," said Rafael Barros from the Secret Service Miami Field Office.

He said measures were taken aft the erstwhile assassination effort connected Trump successful Pennsylvania and "the menace level is high".

The FBI has announced an investigation, and says it is moving with section instrumentality enforcement agencies.

Secret Service and Homeland Security agents person besides searched Mr Routh's erstwhile location of successful Greensboro, North Carolina.