Suspected Trump gunman attempted to fight in Ukraine
3 Min Read
The 58-year-old's prior beliefs and political involvement are now being investigated for clues as to potential motivation in any attack on Trump.
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Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organizations to evacuate Ukrainians from Mariupol in central Kiev on April 27, 2022. (Screengrab, AFPTV)
Ryan Routh, the man listed in several media sources as the suspect in an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Sunday, was among hundreds of foreign volunteers who headed to Ukraine during the war in February 2022.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump escaped unharmed after what the FBI described as an apparent assassination attempt while he was golfing at his West Palm Beach Florida course on Sunday.
The 58-year-old's prior beliefs and political involvement are now being investigated for clues as to potential motivation in any attack on Trump.
Routh told the Financial Times in an interview last year, speaking from Hawaii, that he was turned away by the Ukrainian International Legion headquarters when he arrived at the Polish border town of Medyka.
"They said 'You're 56, you're old, and you have no experience'," he stated. "So why don't you recruit and co-ordinate?"
After his rejection, Routh, traveled to Kiev "to coordinate volunteers," pitching a tent on Maidan Square.
He also distributed fliers in Kiev's central plaza, offering $1,200 to foreigners who take up weapons against Russia. The contact information on the posters was his own, and military recruiters at the time claimed he had no formal ties to Ukraine's growing overseas legion.
In the early months of the war in Ukraine, tens of thousands of foreigners flocked to the country following President Volodymyr Zelensky's appeal to "citizens of the world, friends of Ukraine, peace and democracy" for assistance. Despite the large influx, most of these volunteers were not experienced NATO troops; instead, they often lacked military experience and struggled to navigate the unfamiliar terrain of Ukraine.
Routh was also turned down by an arm of the international legion related to Ukraine's military intelligence directorate GUR, according to a source who knew him and had worked with that unit. The individual regarded Routh as "a little too much" for them and the legion, stressing his unpredictable behavior.
On Monday, Ukraine’s international legion claimed that Routh "never served in the International Legion of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, [and] has no relation to the unit.”
In an earlier interview for the FT, Routh also mentioned efforts to recruit thousands of Afghan soldiers who had fled after the Taliban's 2021 takeover to support Ukraine. "We’ve got 20,000 Afghan soldiers sitting around and doing nothing," he claimed, suggesting they could help prevent the war from dragging on.
The FT could not independently verify this claim, and a contact in Kiev noted that while Routh had "a database" of Afghan soldiers, his plan was considered unrealistic and dismissed by Ukrainian officials.
When asked about his motivations for volunteering, Routh stated, “For me it’s pretty much a no-brainer. I’m pretty baffled that everyone isn’t there.”
