Who is Ryan Wesley Routh: The 58-year-old suspect in Sunday afternoon’s incident where he allegedly pointed an AK-47 at former President Donald Trump has a lengthy arrest history spanning several decades.
Shortly after the incident at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, Ryan Wesley Routh was taken into custody. Authorities said that when they noticed his AK-47’s muzzle poking through a chain-link fence just one hole ahead of where Trump was playing, Secret Service agents opened fire on him.
Authorities are handling the incident as if it were a possible attempt on Trump’s life.
Upon conducting a background investigation on Ryan Wesley Routh, the name provided by the officials, it was discovered that he resides in Hawaii and has had numerous run-ins with the law dating back to the 1990s.
Born and raised in North Carolina, Ryan Wesley Routh criminal record includes offenses such as simple drug possession, driving without a license, driving with an expired inspection, and using a car without insurance. Furthermore, in 2002, the Greensboro News & Record revealed that Routh was taken into custody following a three-hour standoff in which he blocked himself in the office of his roofing firm after being stopped for traffic and putting his hand on a revolver before running away.
Records suggest that in 2017, Routh relocated to Hawaii. Based on what looks to be Routh’s LinkedIn page, he now runs another construction company in Hawaii that erects basic housing units for the homeless.
Following the incident on Sunday afternoon, an official stated, “This does not appear to be some random guy with an AK-47 walking outside Trump’s club.”
Shortly after Trump was securely led off the golf course, word of the event spread.
As Trump played the fifth hole on the course, a Secret Service agent noticed the potential shooter. Authorities claim that he left behind two backpacks, a go-pro camera, and an AK-47 next to a chain-link fence that abuts the course’s sixth hole.
After a Secret Service agent opened fire on Ryan Wesley Routh, he escaped in an SUV but was apprehended shortly after, authorities said.
Following a swift announcement from his campaign that the 45th president was safe, Trump told his followers that he would “never surrender.”
Lucas Tomlinson of Fox News verified that the Secret Service fired shots upon witnessing a man raise an AK-47. According to investigators, the suspect immediately was arrested after escaping in a car.
“There were gunshots in my vicinity but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” In a message circulated on social media, he wrote.
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