September 15, 2024: Apparent Trump assassination attempt
What we covered here
- The FBI said it “is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination” of Donald Trump at his Florida golf club. Trump was not harmed in the incident.
- The Secret Service had spotted a rifle barrel sticking out of a fence and agents fired at a man who was in the bushes along the perimeter, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. The suspect fled in a car and was detained after being stopped on the highway.
- The person detained is Ryan Wesley Routh, according to three law enforcement sources. Routh, who owns a small construction company in Hawaii, had criticized Trump on social media and is a staunch supporter of Ukraine.
- The suspect was 300 to 500 yards away from Trump. Law enforcement found an AK-47-style rifle, GoPro camera and backpacks where the suspect was positioned.
Our live coverage of the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump has moved here.
Routh wanted to create a foreign force to protect Taiwan. But some listed volunteers said they'd never heard of him
Ryan Routh had repeatedly called for bolstering Taiwan’s defenses against China and hoped to set up a foreign legion akin to that in Ukraine.
The man, who was detained in connection with an apparent attempt to assassinate former president Donald Trump on Sunday, is listed as an “International Volunteer Center Coordinator” on a website named Taiwan Foreign Legion.
The group claims it is “recruiting former military and civilians from around the world” willing to defend Taiwan in the event of a war with China.
CNN reached out to over a dozen people listed as “supporters” on the group’s website. But several said they had not heard of the group or its activities, and some had never heard of Routh.
All claimed they did not know how their names and contact information had been shared on the pro-Taiwan website.
Unlike Ukraine, Taiwan does not have an official foreign legion. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry declined to comment on Routh.
China’s ruling Communist Party says Taiwan is part of its territory, despite never having controlled it, and has vowed to take the island by force if necessary.
The US is bound by law to supply the self-governing island with weapons to defend itself, and support for Taiwan is a rare issue of broadly bipartisan consensus in Washington.
Ryan Routh criticized Trump in his self-published book on the Ukraine war
Ryan Wesley Routh decried Donald Trump as an “idiot,” a “buffoon” and a “fool” in his self-published book on the war in Ukraine and geopolitics.
The 58-year-old, who was detained Sunday in connection with an apparent assassination attempt on Trump, wrote last year about his unsuccessful efforts to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia and also weighed in on multiple global crises.
Routh wrote that the former US president’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 was a “tremendous blunder” that drove Tehran closer to Moscow, which it has supplied with drones that have caused devastation across Ukraine.
Routh also gave his opinions on the political situation in Afghanistan, and urged Afghan refugees to fight for Ukraine.
He also wrote about Taiwan, North Korea and Venezuela, drawing comparisons between the authoritarian rule of President Nicolas Maduro and the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.
Appearing to reference his former support for Trump, Routh wrote that he must take part of the blame for electing him as president, writing: “but I am man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake.”
How global leaders are reacting to the apparent Trump assassination attempt
Leaders around the world are condemning the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump and offering their support.
Here’s what they’re saying:
- Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and his wife Sara were “shocked by the second assassination attempt against President Trump and were relieved to hear that it too failed. But we should not rely on luck,” he said in a post to X, adding that he hopes “all measures will be taken to ensure that such deadly attacks on a candidate for the US presidency will be foiled in advance.”
- Australia: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed “concern” and said it is “a good thing” Trump is safe. “Everyone wants the democratic process to be peaceful and to be orderly,” he told reporters.
- Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is glad to hear Trump is “safe and unharmed” in a post on X. This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world.”
- Hungary: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a longtime Trump supporter, said on X: “It is clear that President Trump’s life is in danger, until his victory.”
Here's what we know about the apparent assassination attempt on Trump
The FBI said it “is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination” of Donald Trump at his Florida golf club, just two months after an attempt to kill the Republican presidential nominee at a Pennsylvania rally.
The former president was not harmed.
Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old owner of a small construction company in Hawaii, has been detained in connection with Sunday’s incident, according to three law enforcement sources.
Here’s what happened:
- Gunshots during golf: Trump was moving between holes five and six at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach with donor Steve Witkoff when gunshots went off. The golf game was a last-minute addition to Trump’s schedule, sources said.
- Secret Service spots a rifle: A Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel sticking out of a fence and agents fired at a man in the bushes along the perimeter, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. Bradshaw said his office was alerted at 1:30 p.m. ET that the Secret Service had fired gunshots. The person was 300 to 500 yards away from Trump, an official said. The suspect then fled in a car.
- Witness spots a man in the bushes: A witness saw the suspect run from the bushes and took a picture of his car that led to the suspect’s apprehension.
- Highway chase: Police flooded Interstate 95 before stopping the suspect’s car and detaining him. The suspect was not armed when law enforcement officials took him out of the car, and he has not made any statements. The person in custody is Routh, according to three law enforcement sources.
- Evidence found in bushes: Law enforcement officials found an AK-47-style rifle with a scope; two backpacks that had ceramic tiles in them to augment a bulletproof vest; and a GoPro where the suspect was positioned. “This whole set-up indicates a very high level of pre-planning,” former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe told CNN.
- Mental health assessment: Investigators expect a federal court in South Florida will require “a mental health assessment” of Routh before any possible criminal proceedings, a law enforcement source told CNN.
Man detained in apparent assassination attempt was strong supporter of Ukraine
Ryan Wesley Routh, who authorities suspect was planning to attack former President Donald Trump as he played a round of golf, was a staunch supporter of Ukraine and visited the country in 2022.
Routh traveled to Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than two years ago, according to video and images geolocated by CNN to Kyiv’s Independence Square, as well as interviews with foreign press.
Video shows Routh attended a rally at the square in support of Ukrainian troops on May 1, 2022, and visited the same location about six weeks later, where a photo shows him standing beside a Ukraine flag emblazoned with an appeal for international volunteers to support the war effort
In an April 2022 video by AFP in Kyiv, Routh called Putin a “terrorist” and said “he needs to be ended.”
A representative from Ukraine’s foreign legion told CNN that Routh had contacted them several times but that he was never part of the military unit in which overseas volunteers fight.
Routh also expressed support for Ukraine on social media. In dozens of posts on X in 2022, he said he was willing to die in the fight and that “we need to burn the Kremlin to the ground.”
Routh then used Facebook to encourage foreigners to fight in the war. He tried to enlist Afghan conscripts in a flurry of posts, beginning in October 2023, presenting himself as an off-the-books liaison for the Ukrainian government.
This post has been updated with more information on Routh’s time in Ukraine.
"He was never part of the Legion," Ukrainian officer says of Ryan Routh
A representative from Ukraine’s foreign legion confirmed with CNN that Ryan Wesley Routh had contacted them several times but said he was never part of the military unit in which overseas volunteers fight.
Shaguri said “the best way to describe his messages is — delusional ideas.”
Routh expressed support for Ukraine in dozens of X posts in 2022, saying he was willing to die in the fight and that “we need to burn the Kremlin to the ground.”
He also visited Ukraine in 2022, according to video and photos geolocated by CNN as well as media interviews he gave while there.
Routh then used his Facebook account last year to encourage foreigners to fight in the war. He tried to enlist Afghan conscripts in a flurry of posts, beginning in October 2023, presenting himself as an off-the-books liaison for the Ukrainian government.
Journalist who interviewed Ryan Routh in Ukraine describes meeting an "idealistic" man
Newsweek Romania journalist Remus Cernea, who met the man detained in connection with an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Ukraine on several occasions, told CNN he was surprised by Ryan Routh’s involvement in the incident.
Cernea first met Routh in Kyiv’s Independence Square in June of 2022, where Routh was rallying people to join the foreign legion or to help Ukraine through various humanitarian aid organizations.
At the time, Routh gave Newsweek Romania an interview where he said:
When Cernea met Routh again about a year later, he said, Routh was visibly frustrated that more people had not come to Ukraine’s help.
“Why aren’t there thousands of people here in Kyiv coming to support and join the foreign legion, why aren’t they here?” Cernea remembers him lamenting.
What we know about the man detained after apparent assassination attempt on Trump
Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old owner of a small construction company, has been detained in connection with an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Florida, according to three law enforcement sources.
Here’s what we know about him:
- Trump detractor: A frequent Trump critic on social media, Routh posted on X about the assassination attempt on the former president in July, encouraging President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to visit those wounded at the rally. “Trump will never do anything,” Routh wrote.
- North Carolina ties: Routh was registered as an “unaffiliated” voter in the state in 2012. He also voted in North Carolina’s Democratic primary in March of this year, according to public records.
- Brushes with the law: Routh was arrested in 2002 after being pulled over by police and allegedly putting his hand on a firearm before barricading himself in a business. He was also ordered to pay tens of thousands to plaintiffs in civil suits and has been repeatedly accused by state and federal authorities of failing to pay his taxes on time.
- Silent when apprehended: Routh stayed silent when detained, according to local state attorney David Aronberg. “It looked like a person who has done this before, not necessarily this crime, but someone who has had repeated interactions with law enforcement,” he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
- Support for Ukraine: Routh expressed support for Ukraine in dozens of X posts in 2022, saying he was willing to die in the fight and that “we need to burn the Kremlin to the ground.” He also visited Ukraine. In a video shot by AFP in Kyiv in 2022, Routh called Putin a “terrorist” and urged people to come fight for Ukraine. Routh also tried to enlist Afghan conscripts to fight in the war, presenting himself as an off-the-books liaison for the Ukrainian government.
- Views on global politics: In a self-published book, Routh weighed in on the political situations in Afghanistan, Taiwan, and North Korea. He further detailed his support for Ukraine, and said he tried to enlist in the war but was turned away at the Poland-Ukraine border.
- Affordable-housing builder: Routh said on his LinkedIn page that he started a company in 2018 called Camp Box Honolulu in Hawaii, which builds storage units and tiny houses. A story in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser said he donated a structure for homeless people.
- Son speaks out: Oran Routh said he hopes everything has “just been blown out of proportion” and it’s not like his father “to do anything crazy, much less violent.” He called his father “a loving and caring father, and honest hardworking man.”
This post has been updated with the latest developments.
Ryan Routh self-published a book. Here's what it said about his time in Ukraine
Ryan Wesley Routh, the 58-year-old man detained Sunday in connection with an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Florida, self-published a book last year detailing his efforts to support Ukraine in the war against Russia.
In the 291-page book, Routh described his disillusionment with the war in Ukraine, which he called “unwinnable.”
The book also discussed the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the political situation in Taiwan, which has faced growing military threats from China.
The book, released on Amazon with no publisher listed, is titled: “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: The Fatal Flaw of Democracy, World Abandonment and the Global Citizen-Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea and the end of Humanity.” CNN has not independently verified his accounts in the book.
In it, Routh describes how he had traveled to the Poland-Ukraine border in an effort to enlist in the war — but “at 56 with absolutely no military experience I was reluctantly turned away by the staff” at the border office.
Instead, he tried to enlist more fighters for the war effort — traveling to Kyiv and setting up a makeshift volunteer center at Independence Square before it was disassembled by police. He then “lost all arguments and calls to city hall,” he writes, and spent several months camped out in protest at various locations around the city.
“I had given every ounce of motivation and energy that I could muster for Ukraine and came up empty handed,” he said, describing his unsuccessful attempts to build drones for the Ukrainian army with a team of international engineers.
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