Trump Assassination Attempt Suspect Met with Members of Congress in 2023: Report
On September 15, 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old man, was arrested at Trump International Golf Course in Florida after a gun linked to him was spotted. The incident occurred shortly after shots were fired, prompting a police response that led to his arrest. Routh gained media attention last year for his involvement in attempts to recruit fighters for Ukraine, as chronicled by The New York Times. He claimed he was in Washington, D.C., to discuss military support with U.S. lawmakers and had plans to bring Afghan soldiers to aid Ukraine.
Routh’s ideas were criticized as unrealistic by Ukrainian officials, who stated that he was never connected to their military efforts. In addition to his alleged assassination plot against former President Donald Trump, Routh had authored a book where he expressed controversial opinions about political leadership and the consequences of his past decisions, including an explicit mention of the option for violence against Trump. He previously coordinated a GoFundMe campaign for what he claimed were efforts to support Ukraine, although it is unclear how much money was raised or how it was used.
The man accused of wanting to assassinate former President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday was characterized in the media last year as leading a high-profile attempt to recruit fighters for Ukraine.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested Sunday after a Secret Service agent saw a gun linked to Routh poking through a fence at Trump International Golf Course in Florida. Shots were fired, a man fled, then police arrested Routh.
In March 2023, Routh was among those interviewed in a report by The New York Times about Americans volunteering in the war in Ukraine.
Speaker Johnson should immediately release the names of every member of Congress who met with Ryan Routh. pic.twitter.com/olXAYB5vKF
— Joseph Pino (@JosephPino_) September 15, 2024
Times reporter Thomas Gibbons-Neff noted, after Routh hit the news Sunday, Routh told him he “had planned for a two-hour meeting with some congressmen about Ukraine. (It’s unclear if that meeting ever happened).”
A Times report Sunday said, Routh told the Times last March that he was in Washington, D.C., to meet with the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
“The commission is led by members of Congress and staffed by congressional aides,” the Times noted.
The alleged Trump shooter spoke to the NYT in 2023 where he claimed he was in DC to meet with the pro-Ukraine Helsinki Commission staffed by bipartisan pro-Ukraine members of Congress pic.twitter.com/DXnQ3qTBKv
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) September 16, 2024
Routh said at the time he wanted to recruit Afghan soldiers who fought the Taliban to fight for Ukraine.
“We can probably purchase some passports through Pakistan, since it’s such a corrupt country,” he said then.
Although Ukraine has welcomed foreign fighters, Oleksandr Shaguri, an officer of the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Land Forces Command, in speaking of Routh, said “the best way to describe his messages is — delusional ideas,” according to CNN.
“He was offering us large numbers of recruits from different countries, but it was obvious to us his offers were not realistic. We didn’t even answer. There was nothing to answer to. He was never part of the Legion and didn’t cooperate with us in any way,” Shaguri said.
Routh wrote a book about Ukraine, according to The Washington Post.
In the book, he said he “must take part of the blame” for electing a “brainless” president, in what appeared to be a reference to Trump.
“You are free to assassinate Trump, as well as me, for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the deal,” the book said.
This is the alleged shooter, Ryan Routh who was arrested after leaving his gun outside the Trump Golf course today. Here he is being interviewed by Newsweek in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/yc1mOJ6HnO
— Raymond Arroyo (@RaymondArroyo) September 15, 2024
The Post also noted that at one time, a GoFundMe coordinated by Kathleen Shaffer said it was raising money for “Ryan” and had pictures that appeared to be of Routh.
The site, which is no longer active, said donations had assisted Routh to “send 120 drones to the front lines. Wow!”
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