The suspect in what the FBI has called an “attempted assassination” of former President Donald Trump, Ryan Wesley Routh, suggested Iran should feel “free to assassinate Trump” and himself in a self-published book from February 2023.
In the book, which ABC News has unearthed following Sunday’s incident, Routh directed an apology toward Iran, apparently for his previous support for Trump, who withdrew the U.S. in 2018 from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal with Iran. In the passage, Routh wrote that he “made a terrible mistake” in supporting Trump and said to Iran, “You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the deal.”
Details about Routh’s book come as court documents show Routh has a lengthy criminal record. The suspect was also a booster of a number of causes, including the war in Ukraine, an ABC News analysis of his apparent social media profiles shows.
As authorities try to unravel the motive and details of the case, sources said investigators were looking at whether Routh was frustrated with Trump’s position on Ukraine. Trump refused to answer when asked if Ukraine should win its war against Russia during the ABC News presidential debate last week.
Authorities recovered a loaded SKS-style 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope, two backpacks — one of which had a ceramic tile in it — and a GoPro from the scene, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. The would-be gunman was within 300 to 500 yards of Trump when he was spotted. The serial number on the rifle “was obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye,” the criminal complaint states.
Ryan Wesley Routh in a picture released by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office following his detention by authorities in Florida, Sept. 15, 2024.
Martin County Sheriff’s Office
The former president was unharmed in the incident, and Secret Service acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said in a briefing Monday the suspect did not fire any shots.
Routh’s vehicle was stopped by police Sunday after a witness reported his license plate number to authorities. He was placed into custody on Sunday afternoon. He was charged Monday with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number but did not enter a plea. More charges relating to the incident are expected in the coming days, sources told ABC News. The suspect’s motive remains unknown.
Routh told the court Monday he earns a monthly income of $3,000 and owns two trucks, each worth around $1,000, in Hawaii. But he owns no real estate and has “zero” savings, he said. He also has a 25-year-old son, he said.
Routh is believed to have ties to North Carolina and Hawaii, according to sources. The FBI is conducting an extensive investigation into Routh’s social media activity, travel and any criminal record, sources said. Friends, family and associates are also being sought for interviews.
Routh, in self-published book, says he wants to make “every citizen an enemy of me”
In addition to the passage addressed to Iran, the suspect wrote that he planned to continue his efforts to support Ukraine, implying that doing so would lead to a spectacular end to his life.
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,” Routh wrote in the book, “As you might have figured out by now that this story is also the conclusion of my life.”
He continued: “It has been my goal to make every country, leader and civilian around the world mad at me. While most hide in the shadows and cover their face for every photo I will sacrifice myself if need be to push the war and the world forward.”
In his writing, he added, “I will certainly have made every citizen an enemy of me, but the goal is for them to hate me as much as Putin and hopefully render an even greater resolve.”
He went on to say he was “one insignificant man” and to “let the mafias and kill squads hunt me down and end my life.”
Routh’s former neighbors describe a “weird” loner with guns
Former neighbors of Routh’s described him to ABC News as a “weird” loner who kept guns, while another called him “a good guy.”
Routh lived in the same Greensboro, North Carolina, house for nearly two decades, according to Kim Mungo, a woman who said she lived directly next door to him until “three or four years ago,” when she said he moved to Hawaii.
Mungo described Routh as “a good guy” who did not seem politically engaged or capable of violence. But he did have “guns over at the house,” she said, speculating that he kept the firearms to “protect his property.”
When Routh left for Hawaii, Mungo said he left the house to a family member. When Routh returned in May to clean out the house, she said he hugged her goodbye.
Two of Routh’s neighbors in Hawaii expressed a contrasting impression of the suspect, telling ABC News he seemed ordinary and never showed any signs of a capacity for violence.
Willy Lee, who lives across the street, said his neighbor’s arrest came as “a shock.”
“I don’t really know him that well, but he’s always saying hello, and he’s a very good neighbor,” Lee said.
Another neighbor, Christopher Tam, said there had been “no indication that [Routh] had any mean bone in his body” that would “drive him to do something like this.”
“I mean, I don’t think we imagine anyone that we know or interact with could possibly do anything like this,” Tam added.
Routh’s social media history
A law enforcement source told ABC News that profiles on X, LinkedIn and Telegram are under investigation for a possible connection to Routh. Routh also appears to have operated a Facebook page, which has now been removed, and which listed the same phone number shared on his apparent X profile.
When ABC News dialed that number, an answering machine message said: “This is Ryan with Camp Box Buildings in Hawaii, and also the National Volunteer Center sending soldiers to Ukraine as well as Taiwan.”
Online, he appears to have been a prolific booster of several causes, chiefly of Ukraine’s, with numerous posts referring to an effort to recruit soldiers for that country. Specifically, many of Routh’s posts referred to an effort to send Afghan soldiers to Ukraine.
Ryan Wesley Routh takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Efrem Lukatsky/AP
It was not immediately clear whether Routh had actually recruited any fighters for Ukraine or whether he had any contact with Ukraine’s military or government.
Routh’s apparent X profile contained dozens of posts calling on politicians, celebrities and journalists to support Ukraine. In 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion, posts on that profile contained claims that Routh had traveled to Kyiv.
Routh spoke with an ABC News team in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 30, 2022 — two months into the war — at a protest held by family members of Azov Battalion soldiers defending the city of Mariupol against Moscow’s forces.
He was wearing an American flag bandana around his neck and was holding a handwritten sign that read: “Please world we need everyone here. This is good against evil. These children want normal lives … End Russia for our kids.”
Routh told The Financial Times that he had tried to join Ukraine’s International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine — which is made up of foreign volunteers — but was rejected for being too old. Routh claimed the Legion then suggested he work to recruit other foreigners to serve in the unit.
But a source close to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told ABC News that Routh was rejected from the International Legion not due to his age, but because he failed to pass a psychological screening.
Routh was never hired by any armed forces unit, but visited Ukraine six times in 2022 and 2023, most recently in June 2023.
The International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine told ABC News via email: “We would like to clarify that Ryan Wesley Routh has never been part of, associated with, or linked to the International Legion in any capacity. Any claims or suggestions indicating otherwise are entirely inaccurate.”
A March 2023 post on a LinkedIn profile appearing to belong to Routh contained two undated photos of Routh, respectively showing him in front of the U.S. Congress and at Kyiv’s Independence Square. The post was captioned, “In DC and Kyiv to provide soldiers for the war effort.”
This screengrab taken from AFPTV on September 16, 2024 shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organisations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol in central Kyiv on April 27, 2022, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. US media named Ryan Wesley Routh, whom AFP interviewed in Kyiv in 2022 where he had travelled to support the war effort, as the suspected would-be assassin of Donald Trump. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP) (Photo by -/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)
-/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images
On June 10, 2020, Routh’s apparent X profile directed a post on X at Trump in which he said he had supported Trump in the 2016 presidential election but that Trump had become a “disappointment.” The post concluded, “I will be glad when you are gone.”
Several X posts in March 2020 referred to support for then-Democratic presidential primary candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. Posts in January 2024 indicated support for former Republican presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Facebook posts from October and November 2023 promoted conspiracy theories about China, COVID-19 and biological warfare. In December, Routh posted to the platform questioning the historical claim of Jewish people to Israel.
Routh’s apparent phone number was also listed on a website for a so-called “Taiwan Foreign Legion,” which calls on international volunteers to fight for Taiwan in the event of a possible conflict with China.
The most recent post on Routh’s apparent Facebook page also refers to an effort to convince Taiwan to accept Afghan fighters.
Routh’s criminal history
Routh has an extensive rap sheet in North Carolina dating back to 1997, including an incident from 2002 during which he reportedly barricaded himself inside a business while armed with an assault weapon, according to police and court records.
In December 2002, Routh fled a traffic stop and barricaded himself inside a local roofing business for three hours until police finally arrested him, according to the Greensboro News & Record.
Routh pleaded guilty to a felony count of possessing a weapon of mass destruction and a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon, court records show. State incarceration records show he was sentenced to probation for this incident. Court records indicate he still owes a $225 assessment related to the felony charge of possession of a weapon of mass destruction.
He also pleaded guilty in 2003 to stealing a state-issued ID card and, in 2010, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge. He was also repeatedly sued by construction contractors for attempting to write checks with insufficient funds.
Routh has several traffic citations, including speeding, running red lights, failing to wear a seatbelt, driving while his license was revoked and driving with a broken windshield, among others.
In 2019, the FBI received a tip that Routh was a felon in possession of a firearm, said Jeffrey Veltri, FBI special agent in charge of the Miami Office.
“Following up on the tip, the alleged complainant was interviewed and did not verify, I repeat did not verify, providing the initial information. The FBI passed that information to local law enforcement in Honolulu,” Veltri said.
ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Josh Margolin, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky, Jack Date, Peter Charalambous, Alexander Mallin, Leah Sarnoff, Joe Simonetti, Helena Skinner, Zohreen Shah, Olivia Rubin, Luc Bruggeman and Julia Reinstein contributed to this report.