Trump assassination bid suspect desired to 'fight & die' for Ukraine, help China; dubbed Pakistan as 'corrupt'
Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old former roofing contractor from Greensboro, North Carolina, was arrested on Sunday in connection with an alleged assassination attempt on former US President Donald J. Trump.
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FollowRyan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old former roofing contractor from Greensboro, North Carolina, was arrested on Sunday in connection with an alleged assassination attempt on former US President Donald J. Trump. According to the FBI, Routh had expressed a desire to fight in Ukraine and had a history of making violent, extremist statements online.
Routh's online posts and communications paint a picture of a man deeply engaged in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Routh took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), where he openly declared his willingness to travel to Ukraine to participate in the war.
In a post from early 2022, he wrote, “I AM WILLING TO FLY TO KRAKOW AND GO TO THE BORDER OF UKRAINE TO VOLUNTEER AND FIGHT AND DIE.” This was just one of several public declarations of his intent to engage in the conflict.
In interviews with The New York Times in 2023, Routh revealed his ambitions to recruit Afghan soldiers to join the Ukrainian war effort. Despite having no military experience himself, he said that he traveled to Ukraine shortly after the invasion and sought to move Afghan soldiers—some of whom had fled the Taliban—from Pakistan and Iran to Ukraine. Routh claimed that “dozens” of these soldiers had expressed interest in fighting for Ukraine and mentioned plans to smuggle them across borders, using corrupt officials in Pakistan to purchase fake passports. However, it remains unclear whether Routh’s plans were ever executed.
“We can probably purchase some passports through Pakistan, since it’s such a corrupt country,” he had said.
Routh had also interacted with the US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, commonly known as the Helsinki Commission, which is composed of congressional members and aides and focuses on issues of democracy and security in Europe. He claimed to have met with the commission in Washington to advocate for increased support for Ukraine. In communications shared with The New York Times, he expressed impatience and hostility towards anyone opposing his views, at one point suggesting that an American foreign fighter "needs to be shot" after a disagreement over social media.
In addition to his involvement with Ukraine, Routh exhibited erratic behaviour and a penchant for bizarre political commentary. On the encrypted messaging app Signal, his profile bio read, “Civilians must change this war and prevent future wars,” while on WhatsApp, his bio read, “Each one of us must do our part daily in the smallest steps help support human rights, freedom and democracy; we each must help the Chinese.”
He also expressed admiration for former Representative Tulsi Gabbard, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, praising her efforts to broker peace deals in conflict zones like Syria and Afghanistan. In a series of posts on X, Routh said, "She will tirelessly negotiate peace deals in Syria, Afghanistan, and all turmoil zones.”
Routh’s history of violent tendencies and strange rhetoric extends back over two decades. In 2002, a man of the same name and age was arrested in Greensboro, N.C., after barricading himself in a building with a fully automatic machine gun. According to the Greensboro News Record, he was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possessing the machine gun, although it remains unclear how those charges were resolved.
Routh’s recent social media activity included posts inviting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to visit Hawaii for a vacation, offering to act as an "ambassador and liaison" between North Korea and the United States. At some point in the last few years, Routh moved to Hawaii, where he reportedly ran a small business.
Despite his online extremism and history of criminal behaviour, Routh appeared calm when deputies stopped him on Interstate 95 following the assassination attempt on Trump. Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder told local media that Routh did not resist arrest, did not ask why he was being detained, and was unarmed when taken into custody.
