A 58-year-old man named Ryan Wesley Routh was detained in Florida in connection with an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Routh is a self-employed affordable housing builder in Hawaii who shared his opinions on social media about politics and current events, sometimes criticizing the former president. He is suspected of planning to attack Trump as he played golf and had made references to a previous assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on his social media account.
In his posts, Routh tagged Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, encouraging them to visit those injured at the rally. He expressed disappointment in Trump, stating that while he had voted for him in 2016, he no longer supported the former president and hoped for his departure. Routh has also been involved in politics in North Carolina, where he registered as an “unaffiliated” voter and voted in the state’s Democratic primary in 2022. He has donated money to ActBlue, which processes donations for Democrats.
Routh expressed strong support for Ukraine on social media, stating that he was willing to fight and die for the cause. He even used his personal Facebook account to try and enlist Afghan soldiers to fight in the war. Routh is the owner of a company called Camp Box Honolulu, which builds storage units and tiny houses, and has been involved in charitable work, including donating structures to homeless people. His focus has been on building frameworks for people to thrive and succeed, using economical and efficient construction techniques.
One person who had interactions with Routh, Saili Levi, recounted a negative experience with him when Routh responded poorly to a bad review on Facebook. Levi had hired Routh to build a trailer for his business but was unsatisfied with the work. When Levi asked for improvements, Routh responded aggressively. Routh has had run-ins with the law in the past, with records showing various court cases dating back a couple of decades. He has faced accusations of failing to pay taxes on time and has had to pay damages in civil suits.
Routh’s eldest son, Oran, described him as a loving and caring father and an honest, hardworking man. He expressed disbelief at the allegations in Florida and hoped they were blown out of proportion as it did not align with the father he knows. State and federal authorities continue to investigate the incident in Florida, and Routh remains in custody. Additional reporting has been added to this story to provide further context and information about the situation.
