Authorities said the shooter who allegedly targeted former President Trump while he was golfing in Florida on Sunday afternoon had previously declared on social media that “democracy is on the ballot this year” and “we cannot lose,” echoing anti-Trump rhetoric used by Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden.
Law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58.
Routh, who has a lengthy criminal record in North Carolina, frequently posted about politics dating back to 2019 and donated exclusively to Democratic candidates and causes.
He also slammed Trump in an April 22 post on X, declaring, “Democracy is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”
He advised Biden, 81, who was still seeking reelection, to make keeping “America a democratic and free country” his campaign theme in an April 22 X-post.
He claimed Trump wanted to “turn Americans into slaves against their masters.”
“Democracy is on the ballot and we cannot lose,” he wrote, similar to a slogan often used by President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Failure is not an option,” Rouse continued. “The world is looking to us to show the way.”
It’s similar to language Harris has continued to use on the campaign trail: “We’re fighting for democracy,” she said at a rally in Savannah, Georgia, on August 29.
“Our fundamental freedoms are on the ballot, and so is our democracy,” she said at an event in Houston on July 31. She used the exact same words at a sorority event the same day.
Tom Fitton, president of the conservative legal group Judicial Watch, told the Post: “It’s no coincidence that Rouse echoed Kamala and Joe Trump’s extreme comments. At this point, it’s incitement that cannot be tolerated.”
Here’s what we know about the assassination attempt on President Trump in Florida.
Spokespeople for Biden and Harris did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Following the July assassination attempt that left Republican candidate Trump with an ear injury, Trump tweeted that Biden should visit the victims of the Pennsylvania rally where gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire and attend the funeral of the 50-year-old volunteer firefighter who was killed.
“Visit the hospitals of the victims of the Trump rallies and attend the funerals of the firefighters who died. Trump would never do that. Show the world what a real leader does,” he posted on July 16.
He also tweeted about Trump in June 2020, saying that while he supported the Republican president in 2016, he was disappointed with his time in the Oval Office.
“I and the world had hoped that President Trump would be a different and better man than the candidate and we are all sorely disappointed. You seem to be getting worse and degenerating. Are you an idiot? I will be glad to see you go,” he wrote.
Since 2019, Routh has funded Democrats running for office and liberal causes.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, he donated more than $140 to the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue between September of that year and March 2020.
The records did not list the employer’s name.
According to his LinkedIn, he attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University but moved to Hawaii around 2018.
On LinkedIn, Rouse describes himself as a “machine enthusiast” who enjoys “artistic ideas, inventions and creative projects.”
According to sources, Routh was spotted by Secret Service agents carrying a Soviet-made SKS assault rifle near the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
Deputies fired shots at him, but he fled, and was later arrested by local police on Interstate 95.
His social media accounts were filled with incomprehensible tweets and replies while expressing strong support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and Taiwan in its fight against China.
One of the replies to X owner Elon Musk seemed to suggest they were considering buying the rocket from the billionaire.
“I’d like to buy a rocket from you, load it with a warhead and send it to Putin’s bunker in his Black Sea mansion to destroy him. Can you tell me the price? I don’t mind if it’s an old, second-hand one that will never be returned,” Routh wrote.
He claimed on the X programme that he had tried to “sell” the idea of sending former Afghan soldiers to fight for Ukraine in Russia, but was repeatedly rejected and gave up after six months.
He also claimed he was ready to visit Kiev and fight on the front lines if allowed to do so.
In a 2022 interview with Newsweek Romania, Laus, wearing an American flag-style shirt, spoke about recruiting others to fight in Kiev.
“It’s a question of why I’m here. To me, a lot of other conflicts are grey, but this one is definitely black and white,” he said. “It’s about good and evil.”
“We need thousands, tens of thousands of people to fight alongside Ukrainians,” he added.
A year later, in an interview with Semaphore, Laus expressed his dissatisfaction with Ukrainians.
“It’s often very difficult to work together in Ukraine,” he said. “Many foreign soldiers either stay in Ukraine for a week and then leave, or have to move from unit to unit to find a place where they’re respected and valued.”
Routh was a supporter of Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, according to one of the posts urging Republican presidential candidates to stay in the race.
“We cannot give up. We must remain on the ballot paper till the end. We must fight. Whatever the outcome of the election, we must keep speaking and keep working till election day. We must not give in. We must keep working with Nikki. We must never give up,” he wrote to Ramaswami.
