The second would-be presidential assassin in just two months should never have possessed a firearm because of his status as a convicted felon.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, has an arrest history showing more than 100 contacts with law enforcement going back to the 1990s, which includes both felony and misdemeanor convictions.
Routh reportedly smiled and laughed while walking into federal court for his arraignment Monday morning. He was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and $500,000 in fines. However, prosecutors have empaneled a federal grand jury and are pursuing more serious charges.
Routh’s criminal history shows an arrest in 2002 for what North Carolina officials described as a “weapons law violation” and “terroristic threats.” He was convicted for possessing a “weapon of mass destruction,” which officials have not yet fully explained.
In 2010, Routh was convicted of possessing stolen property, which was used as the basis for Monday’s felon-in-possession charge.
These multiple felony convictions should have precluded Routh from ever owing a firearm, but like most gun control laws, did nothing to stop him from reoffending.
Routh’s most recent address was in Hawaii, where he reportedly owned a company that manufactured storage sheds. How he obtained the scoped 7.62x39mm rifle allegedly found at the crime scene in Florida, possibly a Samozaryadny karabin sistemy Simonova or SKS, is not known. It would have been extremely difficult for Routh to transport the weapon from Hawaii, and it should have been illegal for him to purchase the weapon in Florida.
There are several techniques FBI or ATF criminalistics technicians can use to “raise” an obliterated serial number on a firearm, but as of Monday, no tracing information has been made public.
Known to Law Enforcement
Most of Routh’s criminal history took place in North Carolina, where he lived for a number of years, but he was likely known to law enforcement officials in Hawaii, too.
A Hawaiian man told CNN Monday Routh threatened him in an email following a business dispute by claiming he’d fought Russians in Ukraine.
“I kind of decided maybe I should just let it go for the sake of my family,” the businessman said.
Routh’s social media posts, most of which have been scrubbed, indicated he may suffer from some type of mental illness.
Routh visited Ukraine in 2022, and later tried to recruit veterans to fight against the Russian invaders, even going so far as to claim he was a secret agent for the Ukrainian government. Ukrainian Army spokesman, Oleksandr Shaguri, told CNN Monday that Routh claims were “delusional ideas.”
Recruiting foreign fighters on American soil should have brought Routh to the attention of the State Department, if not the FBI, which as of Monday, has not issued any statements about Routh, his foreign recruitment attempts or his interaction with federal law enforcement.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in an emailed statement that the Justice Department “will work tirelessly to ensure accountability” and will “bring every available resource to bear in this investigation.”
Good Guy with a Gun
To be clear, Routh illegally possessed a firearm with an obliterated serial number, which he never should have been able to purchase or possess. However, he was able to obtain the weapon, conduct surveillance and establish a sniper’s hide with ballistic protection – he had several bags containing ceramic tile – within 300-500 yards of his target, President Trump. And all while wearing a farily bright pink shirt that would’ve been more visible than if he was wearing dark or camouflage clothing.
Routh wasn’t stopped by federal gun-control laws. His murderous plans were only thwarted because he poked the rifle’s muzzle through a chain-link fence, which was spotted by a federal agent who quickly fired several rounds. Routh was not hit, but he dropped his weapon and fled.
Like the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, this latest assassination attempt raises a multitude of questions, which the Secret Service or FBI may never answer.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on social media Monday that “The State of Florida will be conducting its own investigation regarding the attempted assassination at Trump International Golf Club.”
“The people deserve the truth about the would-be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee,” DeSantis said on X.
This story is courtesy of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support the project.
Regarding his most recent brush with the law, he’s been charged for being a felon in possession and having a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
But most on this list say because of recent Supreme Court decisions, it’s unconstitutional to ban felons from possessing a firearm.
And many on this list support ghost guns without serial numbers, nothing in the Constitution about serial numbers so that’s an unconstitutional charge as well.
He was just bearing arms under the constitution like any good American (Florida is permit-less carry), so why was he arrested? He wasn’t even on golf course property, he was outside the fence.
And the guy was never closer than 500 yards, never discharged a firearm much less shot anyone… So how do y’all justify his arrest for a ‘pre-crime’?
Ask the feds. They’re the ones who shot at him.
Narrative shift
Weak and stupid narrative shift but, yeah, that’s all he’s got.
To be clear:
1. If someone, convicted of a crime, is released back into society, then I do feel they should get their 2A rights back.
2. “Personally Manufactured Firearms” with no serial number to begin with are quite different from “firearms with serial numbers that have been obliterated”. However, IMO, neither one survives Heller as it isn’t a long standing tradition to have serial numbers on firearms.
With that said, 2A grants one the right to keep and bear arms – for lawful purposes. Attempted murder is not a lawful purpose.
Twits like this guy never want to admit that the bad guy did a bad thing. I’m pretty sure Minor49(IQ) would be doing his happy dance if this guy had gotten a shot off at Trump. Not to mention that he is in the bag for all kinds of restrictions, or at least harps on those of us who are against them, and then tries to act like he’s caught everyone in some sort of inconsistency when we don’t champion this would-be-assassin’s actions. As you said, attempted murder is illegal, even if you don’t use a gun and aren’t a prior felon.
minor49iq…Your rant is nether here nor there, I suggest you remove the serial numbers from a motor vehicle and go tell the DMV to find out what any connection with removing valid serial numbers is about Gun or no Gun.
Man up…You and your ilk own the deranged democRat lock, stock and barrel. BTW…You’ll soon find out the democRat’s firearm charges are the least of his problems.
TRUMP/VANCE 2024.
“So how do y’all justify his arrest for a ‘pre-crime’?”
Maybe you should ask that question of the Biden administration, they want it to happen all the time with red flag laws
Yeah it’s a puzzlement ain’t it?!? Like how do thousands of felons get gats in Chiraq ? Meanwhile being law abiding puts you on a list. Oh well🙄😧
“he MAY suffer from some type of mental illness”
No sh–!
… it’s known as Trump Derangement Syndrome, and our resident expert on the subject, Miner 49er, will be happy to answer any and all questions anyone may have – as he is an admitted , untreated patient with an advanced case of the affliction.
Wake up, people. This guy is a classic patsy — an ordinary man (a contract roofer) searching for meaning in his life, advocating for multiple causes, including the defense of Ukraine. He had come into contact with multiple politicians from both the US and Ukraine. The Feds picked up on him, put hardware in his hand and an idea in his head, and set him loose. How did he know Trump would be golfing that day?
Remember that poor sap who drove across country from Oregon, heading to D.C. to waste some congresscritters, and was picked up in Iowa for a traffic violation?
Or the other poor sod who parked on the steps of the Library of Congress — he claimed he had a bomb in his truck and would level the entire city?
Then, of course, the infamous plot to take out the governor of Michigan?? Those poor sods were the lowest and the low and the weakest of the weak, and it was proven in court they were manipulated by the Feds.
The Feds are masters at recruiting mentally-ill losers and setting them up for arrest. Why wouldn’t they also set them loose to cause havoc?? Feds troll protests not just looking to frame and arrest people, but to recruit pathetic losers and convince them to organize and execute crimes so they can be arrested and make the Feds looks good, or to just cause havoc.
Do not trust any law enforcement. Stay the hell away from them.
If I was Trump I would organize, vet, and fund my own private security. He should stay away from the incompetent, DEI, untrustworthy government goons.
An SKS? I have seen them for sale at garage sales and once found one in a crashed truck in a junkyard. In all likelihood he bought it before he became a prohibited person and that is what the serial number was removed. They are a great design chambered in an under powered cartridge. I have always wanted to re barrel one in 6mm PPC.
How would he have gotten it from Hawaii to Florida? If he already owned it.
Think he had some property in Carolina (not sure which) as well but who knows. Unless he gets disappeared more should trickle out over time.
You pack it in a box and ship it over with all of your other possessions. You can also legally mail long guns to yourself. If you believe it is hard you just aren’t very resourceful.
Thus the attraction of confiscating firearms from everyone, except protected classes, such as criminals, illegals, gangs; these are needed to justify govt programs.
“He was convicted for possessing a “weapon of mass destruction,” which officials have not yet fully explained. ”
Its not a mystery, its in the charging documents from that 2002 arrest. Its explained in the charging documents as a ‘machine gun’.
“To be clear, Routh illegally possessed a firearm with an obliterated serial number, which he never should have been able to purchase or possess. However, he was able to obtain the weapon, conduct surveillance and establish a sniper’s hide with ballistic protection – he had several bags containing ceramic tile – within 300-500 yards of his target, President Trump. And all while wearing a farily bright pink shirt that would’ve been more visible than if he was wearing dark or camouflage clothing.”
They tracked his cell phone locations, he was around the golf course for 12 hours prior Trumps arrival. He also got the SKS from somewhere/someone in the area. This from the sheriff in an interview.
Shannon Watts took to twitter to let everyone know that red flag laws would have stopped this criminally minded guy from traveling to Florida, hanging around the golf course for 12 hours, setting up a sniper hide, and procuring a gun illegally in the area. ’cause you know criminals always obey laws, right?
“establish a sniper’s hide with ballistic protection – he had several bags containing ceramic tile – within 300-500 yards of his target”
He did not “get” within 300-500 yds of Trump – he was lying in wait, for hours. Had he not been seen, Trump and companions would have been line-of-sight, and within easy range of a mag dump, as they played through.
I am not sure I would fault the Secret Service on this one. Not sure I wouldn’t, either, but this ain’t as damning as Butler, full stop.
My point is this dude has a strong clown aspect to him, but this was a well thought out plan that could easily have worked. As to how he knew Trump would be there, Trump golfs on the weekends. Everybody knows that.
Can you imagine if someone took a crack at Hillsry 8 years or 25 years ago? It would STILL be in the headlines…
“As to how he knew Trump would be there, Trump golfs on the weekends.”
Exactly. His campaign said publicly he was going to Florida, he always plays golf there on weekends when he goes back to Florida. The guy may be mentally ill but he can extrapolate a likely hood from 1 + 1 = 2. He just didn’t know when Trump would arrive, all he had to do was hang around and wait for him to show up or hang around the airport and it would be obvious when Trump arrived by aircraft, or wait until you see a bunch of guys in suits with sun glasses talking into their sleeves arrive.
So “they” got a “mentally ill” ho.m.os-ex.ual to try and kill President Trump. I thought h-o.m.osex.u-als didn’t suffer from mental illness???
That’s what the smartest people in the room say all the time. “Being gay is not a mentally illness.” They said being g-a.y has no effect at all, on a person’s mental health.
Since he has a felony record. Did his g.a’y friends buy the gun for him???
Yes that’s correct. I do ask these kinds of questions.
And why is it different when a woman buys a gun for her criminal boyfriend??
I hope more people start to understand this. That supporting “gay marriage” means absolutely nothing to libertarians liberals and the left. It means nothing to the h.omo-sexual.s and at-he.ists.
They are all soc.ia-lis.ts pr.o-gre-ss.ive in their p0lit-ic@l 0ri-en.ta-ti0n.
They will work to destroy anyone who is even slightly conservative. Private citizen Trump hosted gay and interracial marriages on his private property back in I believe in 1989.
And he still hosts gay marriages to this day. At his Florida property. And still they want to murder him.
God please protect President Trump. And the people around him.
Uh, not all atheists are communists or even liberals. I’m certainly not. I’m as anti-commie as they come. And not all atheists are anti-religion. I’ll take the Christians over the liberals every day of the week… right up until they want to burn atheists at the stake.. again.
I certainly am anti-CERTAIN religions, though.
You’re sound as brainwashed about atheists as most liberals are about guns. No one speaks for all atheists any more than the NRA speaks for all gun owners… for example.
A few questions about the alleged assassin.
First, he has been allegedly living in Hawaii. Living on 3 grand a month. With no verifiable employment. He’s been flying all over the place over the last few years. Hawaii to DC, Clear across to Ukraine. \So here’s the question. Where is he getting the money for these excursions? As a convicted felon under current law he could not legally obtain or posses a firearm. Where did he get the rifle? Did he have the vehicle stored in the region or did he obtain it after flying in? How did he find the allegedly only suitable site for setting up a hide on the golf course without either reconning it himself or receiving information from someone?
Sorry folks, this stinks to high heaven. There is more going on than we have been told or ever will be told. I honestly doubt this guy will ever see a trial or prison time. Likely to be Arkansided or Epstiened before he can talk to anyone.
“Where did he get the rifle?”
He got it in the local area when he arrived.
“Did he have the vehicle stored in the region or did he obtain it after flying in?”
The car, a Nissan SUV, was later determined to have plates which belonged to a 2012 Ford which had been reported as stolen. But aside from the plates, in an interview the sheriff seemed to imply the Nissan SUV was stolen as well. Need to wait for more, not enough clear info on that point yet.
I’ve owned the detach mag Chinese SKS, the fixed mag Chinese SKS and the pretty Russian SKS. They are for the most part 100 yard rifles especially those with pinned barrels. The trigger groups are finicky. I accurized the detach mag version with an aftermarket polymer stock, vented handguard, added some weld points to tighten things up and modified the mag well. All have found new homes long ago and as far as I know all are still reliable.
It would be interesting for the AK Guy to take the perp’s rifle to a range to see what it could do beyond 100yds.