Who Is Ryan Routh? The Man Behind Trump’s Second Assassination Attempt
Two months after Donald Trump narrowly escaped an assassination during a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, another attempt on the life of the former US President was supposedly averted on September 15 by the country’s Secret Service.
The attempted assassination, which occurred on Trump’s Florida golf course, had Ryan Routh, the identified gunman, lay siege to Trump’s residence for nearly 12 hours.
However, while Trump’s first assassination attempt saw Thomas Crooks’ bullet graze the former President’s ear, killing and wounding his supporters with multiple shots, Routh’s plan was thwarted by what officials have described as a Secret Service agent’s “swift action.”
The FBI alleges that Routh had been in the vicinity of the course with a rifle, waiting for the opportunity to get a clear line of sight on Trump.
Ryan Routh was charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number at his initial court appearance on Monday.
This failed attempt, less than two months before the highly contested November 5 election, has sparked questions about Routh’s possible motives for targeting the Republican presidential candidate.
Who Is Ryan Wesley Routh?
Routh, 58, led a life that could be described as entrepreneurial. His LinkedIn profile lists him as the founder of a company called Camp Box Honolulu, which builds tiny houses and storage units.
Camp Box Honolulu was described on its website as a firm providing economical options for Hawaiian life by itemizing the cost of every item so that anyone could custom design a unit that fits their desired size.
Supposedly founded in May 2018, Camp Box Honolulu claims to build simple, economical structures aimed at addressing Hawaii’s high homelessness rate, a problem it attributes to “unparalleled gentrification.”
“The extremely high cost of land, building materials, labor, and ridiculous government regulation makes affordable housing extremely challenging in this environment. We try to build units that fall below permitting requirements with the simplest of construction techniques to make units fast and affordable,” Routh wrote on his LinkedIn profile.
A story published in 2019 claimed that Routh donated structures to homeless people.
“As a community, if we can all come together and pool our resources, it would be extremely beneficial,” Routh told the Star-Advertiser. “All of us are tired of seeing homeless people all over the island with nowhere to go.”
Yet, despite his ‘charitable efforts’, Routh’s life story also has a darker side.
Public records show that he has been entangled in legal issues for years. A 2002 arrest occurred after he allegedly placed his hand on a firearm during a traffic stop, fled from police, and barricaded himself inside a building.
Over the years, he has faced numerous civil suits and has been ordered to pay tens of thousands of dollars in damages. He was also repeatedly accused of failing to pay taxes on time.
In recent months, his financial situation appeared dire. During his court appearance on Monday, Routh told the judge that he had been earning $3,000 a month but had “zero funds” in savings. His only assets, according to him, were two trucks he owned in Hawaii.
Routh’s Radical Views and Ukraine War Experience
Perhaps, Routh’s self-published book offers an insight into the mind of the man behind this attempted assassination.
His book, Ukraine’s Unwinnable War, selling for $2.99 on Amazon, reveals his deep discontent with global politics, his resentment toward the Ukrainian people, and his frustration over the lack of meaningful contributions he could make during his five-month stay in the war-torn country.
Although he’s being investigated for attempting to kill Trump, an extract from his book on Amazon, sees Routh question the morality of ever taking a human life.
“How do we justify killing in any form?” he asked. “I would think that the more civilized and progressive we get, the more respect for life we would have. When is it acceptable to kill another human being?”
Despite this moral contemplation, in an alarming message addressed to Iranian authorities, Routh apologised for supporting Trump and shockingly invited assassination:
“You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the (Iran) deal,” he wrote.
The book, published in February last year, also contains disturbing graphic images of war victims and dead bodies, reflecting a violent fixation.
A History of Democratic Donations
Routh’s connection to Trump is complicated. While he professed regret for supporting Trump in his book, his political donations reveal that he leaned toward Democratic candidates in the 2020 election cycle.
According to Federal Election Commission records, Routh made 19 small-dollar contributions, ranging from $1 to $25, to Democratic candidates including Andrew Yang, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O’Rourke, Tulsi Gabbard, and Tom Steyer. His largest contribution, $25, went to O’Rourke in 2019.
Though Routh voted in the Democratic primary earlier this year, his political views, much like his personal life, appear to be full of contradictions. He registered as an “unaffiliated” voter in North Carolina in 2012 but later voted in the state’s Democratic primary in 2024.
These mixed views and his increasingly radical outlook likely culminated in his extreme decision to target Trump, adding to the complex web of factors that led to this attempted assassination.
But for Trump, a double assassination attempt would not deter him from vying to win the November polls and making a comeback to the White House.
“Nothing will slow me down,’ he wrote in an email to his supporters. ‘I will never surrender.”
