The alleged gunman who authorities said targeted former President Trump while he golfed in Florida Sunday afternoon previously declared on social media that “Democracy is on the ballot” this year, and “we cannot lose” — echoing the anti-Trump rhetoric used by Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden.
Law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58.
Routh, who has a lengthy criminal record from North Carolina, frequently posted about politics and exclusively donated to Democratic candidates and causes dating back to 2019.
Ryan Routh, the suspected would-be assassin.
He also bashed Trump in an April 22 post on X in which he declared, “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”
He advised Biden, 81, in an April 22 X post when he was still running for reelection, to run a campaign around keeping “America democratic and free.”
He claimed Trump wants to “make Americans slaves against master.”
“DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose,” he wrote, a similar slogan commonly used by President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We cannot afford to fail,” Routh continued. “The world is counting on us to show the way.”
This is similar to language that Harris continues to use on the campaign trail. On Aug. 29, she said at a rally in Savannah, Ga., “We are fighting for our democracy.”
The would-be assassin was stopped on I-95. Martin County Sheriff
On July 31, she said at an event in Houston that “our fundamental freedoms are on the ballot and so is our democracy” — after using identical wording at a sorority event the same day.
Tom Fitton, president of the conservative legal group Judicial Watch, told The Post: “It is no coincidence that Routh repeated Kamala’s and Joe’s extremist rhetoric against Trump. At this point it is inexcusable incitement.”
Here’s what we know about the assassination attempt on Trump in Florida: Former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach on Sept. 15, 2024. Trump sent out a statement to supporters soon after to report that he is “SAFE AND WELL.” The suspect — identified as Ryan Routh, 58, of Hawaii — was able to get between 300 to 500 yards of Trump at a chain link fence on the edge of the course where he had an AK-47 and a GoPro camera set up to apparently film the planned shooting. Routh has a history of supporting progressive causes online and has made 19 donations to Democratic candidates since 2019. A Secret Service agent spotted and opened fire on Routh as he put his gun through the fence. The suspect fled the scene and was arrested on I-95 a short time later. According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Trump’s security detail was lighter because he isn’t a sitting president — despite the previous attempt on his life in July.
Spokespeople for Biden and Harris did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Following the Trump assassination attempt in July where the GOP nominee was wounded in the ear, he tweeted at Biden that he should visit the victims of the Pennsylvania rally where Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire and attend the funeral of the 50-year-old volunteer firefighters who was killed.
Routh seen in an undated photo.
“You should visit the victims in the hospital of the trump rally victims and attend the funeral of the fireman that died; Trump certainly never would. SHOW THE WORLD WHAT REAL LEADERS DO,” he posted on July 16.
He also tweeted at Trump in June 2020 that while he supported the Republican in 2016, he was left disappointed by his tenure in the Oval Office.
“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; are you retarded; I will be glad when you gone,” he wrote.
A Sherrif block the street outside the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. AFP via Getty Images
Routh chipped in money for Democrats running for office and liberal causes since 2019.
Between September of that year and March 2020, he contributed more than $140 on the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue, Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show.
The records did not list an employer.
His LinkedIn shows that he attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, but relocated to Hawaii sometime around 2018.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was spotted near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club with an AK-47.
Routh describes on LinkedIn as “mechanically minded” and enjoying “ideas and invention and creative projects with artistic flair.”
Routh was spotted by Secret Service agents near the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach with a Soviet-style SKS assault rifle, according to sources.
The agents opened fire on him, but he fled. Routh was later arrested on I-95 by local police.
Trump was rushed to safety after multiple shots were fired nearby. MEGA
His social media account was also filled with nonsensical tweets and replies while also voicing strong support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and Taiwan in its struggle against China.
One reply to X’s owner Elon Musk seemed to entertain purchasing a rocket from the billionaire.
“I would like to buy a rocket from you. I wish to load it with a warhead for Putin’s Black Sea mansion bunker to end him. Can you give me a price please. It can be old and used as not returning,” Routh wrote.
The would-be assassin’s nest, where authorities found a rifle, backpack and GoPro camera.
He claimed on X that he tried to “sell” the idea of having former Afghanistan troopers fight for Ukraine in Russia, but was denied multiple times before giving up after six months.
He also said that he visited Kyiv and claimed that he would be willing to fight on the frontlines, if he were permitted to.
In a 2022 interview with Newsweek Romania, Routh, wearing an American flag-style shirt, spoke about recruiting others to fight in Kyiv.
An evidence box which may contain the rifle used to during the shooting. MEGA
The agents opened fire on him, but he fled. Routh was later arrested on I-95 by local police. AP
“The question as far as why I’m here. To me, a lot of the other conflicts are gray but this conflict is definitely black and white,” he said. “This is about good versus evil.”
“We need thousands and thousands and thousands of people here fighting with Ukrainians,” he added.
In an interview with Semafor a year later, Routh expressed frustration with Ukrainians.
“Ukraine is very often hard to work with,” he said. “Many foreign soldiers leave after a week in Ukraine or must move from unit to unit to find a place they are respected and appreciated,”
Routh was a supporter of Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, according to one of his posts in which he encouraged the Republican presidential candidates to continue their races.
“You cannot quit. Why. You must stay on the ballot to the end. You must fight. You must continue giving speeches and push all the way to election day no matter the election results. Do not give in. Join Nikki and keep working. Never give up,” he wrote to Ramaswamy.
