2 days Ago
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The man suspected in the incident, Ryan Wesley Routh, camped outside the golf course in West Palm Beach with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, according to court documents filed Monday. He is accused of lying in wait for the former president before a Secret Service agent opened fire, thwarting the potential attack.
Here are five things to know about what happened and where the investigation stands: Routh, 58, faces charges of possessing a firearm despite a prior felony conviction and of possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Additional charges are possible. The suspect lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving in 2018 to Kaaawa, Hawaii.
He and his son operated a company building sheds, according to an archived version of the webpage for the business. Routh appeared briefly in federal court in West Palm Beach on Monday. He had frequently posted on social media about the war in Ukraine and had a website where he sought to raise money and recruit volunteers to go to Kyiv to join the fight against the Russian invasion.
"Fight and die to stop aggression," he posted on X in February 2023 about Ukraine. "Everyone should be outraged and helping." In a video circulating online Routh said, "This is about good versus evil.
" He also wrote separately on X, "I am going to fight and die for Ukraine," and he even traveled there. Video shot by The Associated Press showed Routh at a small demonstration in Kyiv's Independence Square in April 2022, two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of the country. A placard he was holding said: "We cannot tolerate corruption and evil for another 50+ years.
End Russia for our kids." Routh wore a blue vest with the U.S.
flag on the back. That same day, Routh also visited a makeshift memorial to "Foreigners killed by Putin." But Routh never served in the Ukrainian army or worked with its military, said Oleksandr Shahuri of the Foreigners.
.. Will Weissert , Adriana Gómez Licón.
