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Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump, is a controversial figure. Routh, 58, has a long history of arrests and run-ins with police dating back to the 1990s. According to a Fox News report, Routh was shot by Secret Service agents after they heard shots fired at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Roth, who has lived in Hawaii since moving there in 2017, worked in residential construction after starting his own company. He also expressed his pro-Ukrainian views in a previous interview with Newsweek Romania, where he indicated his support for recruiting foreign fighters to fight alongside Ukrainian forces against Russia.
According to the FBI, Routh was armed with an AK-47 and apparently had a GoPro camera to document the incident. Trump was between 300 and 500 meters away from the gunman, who was hiding in the bushes. Secret Service agents engaged the gunman and shot him before he fled in a black SUV. He was pursued and arrested in Martin County.
What did the suspect’s son say?
In multiple media interviews, Ryan Wesley Roth’s son, Oran, has spoken about his father’s strong support for Ukraine and his anger at Trump’s positions on the Russia-Ukraine war. Oran has confirmed that his father traveled to Ukraine to provide what he called “humanitarian aid,” at a time when Trump’s positions on the war angered him.
Although he was unable to speak directly to his father, Oran described him as a “loving, hard-working father,” but added, “I can’t believe that someone I know would do something so violent.” In another interview with the Daily Mail, Oran said his father hated Trump “very much,” adding, “as any sane person would,” and explained that his father’s clean record was limited to traffic violations.
Investigations into Roth’s motives continue, and his stance on Ukraine and President Trump remain central to understanding his possible motivations for carrying out this dangerous attempt.
