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The man taken into custody following an alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump had been a vocal supporter of the former president before growing radically disillusioned with the three-time GOP nominee.Here’s what’s known Monday about the suspect and foiled attack.
Follow live updates on the alleged Trump assassination attempt.
When and where did it happen?
The former president was playing golf near his Mar-a-Lago home a little before 2 p.m. on Sunday when a Secret Service agent saw a rifle with a scope in the bushes outside the course, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.
Secret Service agents opened fire on the man and it wasn’t immediately clear if the suspect returned fire before fleeing in a black Nissan, officials said.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was pulled over and taken into custody without incident by a Martin County Sheriff’s traffic unit on Interstate 95, authorities said.
What kind of weapons were involved?
An AK-47 style rifle was recovered from the scene near a fence by the golf course, Bradshaw said, and by the rifle were two backpacks and a GoPro camera.
What was his involvement with Ukraine?
Routh was very open about his support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion and said he traveled to the eastern European nation to see the battle zone firsthand.
But the extent of his work on behalf of Kyiv wasn’t clear.
In an interview with Newsweek Romania in 2022, Routh said he had volunteered to fight for the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine but was turned down due to his age and lack of previous combat experience.
Instead, Routh claimed, he opted to help with military recruitment efforts in Kyiv. A representative of the International Legion told NBC News on Monday that Routh never served in that fighting force.
Did he support or oppose Trump?
Routh said in 2020 he had backed candidate Trump in the past, but expressed his disappointment with the Trump presidency.
He tweeted at Trump on June 10 of that year: “While you were my choice in 2106, I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving … I will be glad when you gone.”
The suspect appeared to be fully behind then-Democrat Tulsi Gabbard and her bid for 2020 presidential nomination that was eventually won by Joe Biden.
He later soured on Gabbard for what he perceived as her alignment with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, writing on X in 2022, “why don’t you go and Join Putin and trump and be their third wheel.”
There was no immediate evidence in Routh’s social media postings that he was ever a supporter of Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris.
He threw his 2020 Democratic presidential support behind Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, while deriding “sleepy Joe” who “stands for nothing; no plans, no ideas, just as limp hillary,” he wrote on March 4, 2020.
Does he have a criminal history?
Records show more than 100 criminal counts have been filed against Routh in North Carolina. In 2002, court records show, he was convicted of possessing a weapon of mass destruction — a machine gun.
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