Trump's would-be assassin is 'obsessed' with Ukraine, media say

The man behind a failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump at his Florida golf club has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh by several media outlets citing unnamed law enforcement sources. Authorities have yet to officially confirm the suspect's identity.

The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon while the former US president and Republican candidate was playing golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. A Secret Service agent apparently spotted the barrel of a rifle sticking out from the fence of the complex and fired several shots at the threat. The suspect fled the scene, leaving behind an AK-style rifle with a scope and a GoPro camera, but was later arrested.

“He didn't show a lot of emotion. He never asked, 'What's this about?'” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder made the same point at a news conference.

The suspect was reportedly “relatively quiet” when authorities stopped him. Fox News has obtained a photo of the suspect moments after his arrest, while New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz has shared another photo of him being removed from his vehicle.

Although the identity and motive of the man have not yet been officially confirmed by authorities, law enforcement sources told AP, CNN and Fox News that the name of the man arrested was Ryan Wesley Routh.

A man with that name seemed to be a staunch supporter of Ukraine, according to American media outlets and Internet users who analyzed their social media accounts before they were deleted.

Routh's social media profiles were filled with posts highlighting his “self-proclaimed participation” in the conflict in Ukraine and attempts to recruit soldiers to fight against Russia, according to CNN John Miller, chief intelligence and law enforcement analyst.

Routh repeatedly expressed his strong support for kyiv in dozens of often meaningless posts in 2022, saying he was willing to fight and die for Ukraine and that “We need to burn the Kremlin to the ground” according to CNN.

“I would like to buy you a rocket” he wrote in a message to Elon Musk, according to the NYPost. “I want to load it with a nuclear warhead and take it to Putin’s Black Sea mansion bunker to finish him off.”

Routh spent several months in kyiv in 2022 and said The New York Times talked about his efforts to recruit former Afghan soldiers to fight in Ukraine. He also spoke with Newsweek Magazine about his attempts to recruit volunteers for the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine.

According to the New York Post, Routh frequently criticized politicians, including Trump and current President Joe Biden, and “He promoted his credentials as a benefactor while championing leftist causes.”

Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said that if the suspect's identity is confirmed, it is clear that he is “obsessed with the war in Ukraine, which is financed by the United States.”

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has questioned whether US intelligence agencies had any “contact” with the attempted shooter pointing to his alleged ties to Ukraine and his vocal support for kyiv.

“We know little so far, but with the alleged Trump shooter’s personal and public involvement in military activity in Ukraine, it is hard to imagine that agencies in this White House can claim there was no contact, that there were ‘clean hands.’ There is something of an Oswald vibe going on. Congress should get answers.” Snowden wrote in X.

Meanwhile, Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., called the alleged shooter a “psychopath” Who probably “He spends a lot of time watching left-wing propaganda.”

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