By Lee Williams
SAF Investigative Journalism Project
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, 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.
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.
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