Son of Suspected Trump Gunman Defends His Father

The suspect in what is being investigated as another assassination attempt on Donald Trump has what the Washington Post aptly describes as a "quixotic past." Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, lives in Hawaii now, but spent much of his life in North Carolina. The Wall Street Journal similarly observes that he has "lived through years of apparent turmoil, brushes with the law, and failed attempts to link himself to some larger purpose," and it cites this from his LinkedIn profile:

• "I would tremendously enjoy the invitation to join any monumental worthy cause to bring about real change in our world," he wrote. "I am certainly free to relocate to any remote location on the planet that might render the most positive impact."

• Ukraine war: Routh appeared to find his personal cause in the Ukraine war, writing on social media in 2022 that he was willing to "fight and die" for Ukraine, per the New York Times. He even traveled to Kyiv and worked as a self-styled military recruiter and pseudo-diplomat, though in no official capacity. (Read a 2023 Times interview with him about the issue. He also spoke to Semafor that year.)
• His son: "My dad went over there and saw people f---ing fighting and dying," son Oran Routh tells the Guardian. "He … tried to make sure s--- was cool, and s--- was not cool." Oran Routh told CNN in a separate interview: "I don't know what has happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion, because from the little I've heard it doesn't sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violent."
• Former charges: In 2002, Routh was charged in Greensboro, North Carolina, with carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon of mass destruction—a fully automatic machine gun—after barricading himself in a local business when police tried to make a traffic stop, according to the News & Record. A decade prior to that, however, he was lauded as a "super citizen" by the local police union for his help in defending a woman against an alleged rapist, per the Post.

• Jobs: Routh worked as a roofing contractor in North Carolina, but he began building inexpensive public housing (tiny houses and converted storage sheds) after moving to Hawaii several years ago, per CNN. He started a company called Camp Box Honolulu in 2018 for this purpose.
• Politics: Routh has criticized Trump on social media, though he apparently backed him in 2016, notes CNN. "While you were my choice in 2106, I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving," he wrote in 2020. "I will be glad when you gone." Routh has mostly supported Democrats, donating to candidates including Beto O'Rourke and Andrew Yang. He also supported former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat who has since left the party and now backs Trump.

(More Donald Trump stories.)