Across Ukraine and Hawaii, the suspect in the Trump assassination attempt displaying peculiar actions indicated an evident 'inflated self-importance'.
A 58-year-old homebuilder named Ryan Wesley Routh, residing in Hawaii, claimed to have spent numerous months in Ukraine, endeavoring to recruit foreign combatants from Afghanistan. On Twitter, he urged President Biden to dispatch all available weaponry to Ukraine and offered advice on military tactics to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
However, Routh's boastful online persona seemed to contradict his actual achievements. During an interview last year, he admitted that he hadn't managed to secure any visas for the Afghan fighters he asserted he was ready to send to Ukraine. Furthermore, a Ukrainian military official expressed skepticism, deeming Routh's strategies as "delusional."
Away from his virtual platform, Routh operated a small business that constructed miniature homes in a Honolulu suburb, and he spared time to write letters to his local newspaper, expressing concerns about homeless encampments, graffiti on an Oahu highway tunnel, and a hiking trail controversy.
Routh's online communications with Biden, Zelensky, and other prominent figures seemed to have gone unnoticed. This relative anonymity persisted until his arrest in Florida this week, following allegations that he had waited outside Trump's Palm Beach golf course with an assault rifle. Authorities claimed that in an alleged assassination attempt, a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel with a scope peeking out of a fence while Trump was playing golf. The agent discharged their weapon, and Routh apparently fled without retaliating. Routh was subsequently detained and faced charges, including possessing a firearm while a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Online Warrior
In the period leading up to his alleged assassination attempt, Routh had a history of sharing controversial opinions online and displaying a strong affinity for advocating for Ukraine's struggle against Russia.
Routh joined Twitter in January 2020, and posts saved by the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine revealed that he was actively discussing politics. In a 2020 post, Routh professed support for Trump in 2016, but expressed disillusionment with the former president, stating, "I and the world had hoped that president Trump would be different and superior to the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointed and it appears you are becoming worse and deteriorating." More recently, he suggested that Trump's campaign motto should be "make Americans slaves again."
Routh also donated modest sums to the campaigns of Democratic presidential hopefuls such as Tulsi Gabbard, Beto O'Rourke, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, and Andrew Yang, according to Federal Election Commission records. His tweets from that time period featured criticisms of then-candidate Joe Biden as "sleepy Joe" and derision of his perceived lack of convictions and ideas.
Routh even attempted to establish contact with world leaders as early as 2020, when he repeatedly messaged North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un on Twitter. In one such message, Routh extended an invitation for a vacation in Hawaii, writing, "We would love to host you here and entertain you...I am a leader here and can arrange the whole trip. Please come."
In the days leading up to and following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Routh made numerous tweets about the conflict. "I am prepared to travel to Ukraine and fight and die," he wrote in one post.
Additionally, Routh directly addressed Zelensky, advocating for civilian support, declaring, "WE CAN GET THOUSANDS OF CIVILIANS TO JOIN YOUR FIGHT–I am willing to be the example-I WILL FLY FROM AMERICA AND FIGHT WITH YOU...PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO RESPOND." Zelensky did not appear to acknowledge this communication.
An American in Kyiv
Despite declaring his intention to assist Ukraine, Routh's actual impact seemed minimal. Interviews with multiple individuals who encountered him in Ukraine, as well as social media photographs, confirmed that he had visited the country in April 2022. Photographs geolocated by CNN depicted Routh posing with signs supporting Ukraine, along with a substantial number of drones, at Kyiv's Maidan Square. A GoFundMe page created by his fiancée, Kathleen Shaffer, sought to raise $2,500 for tactical gear, accommodations, and supplies for volunteers. The page stated that Routh had already arranged for 120 drones to be delivered to the front lines, though CNN was unable to substantiate these claims.
In interviews with the New York Times and Semafor from the previous year, Routh described his efforts to support Ukraine, including attempts to recruit fighters from Afghanistan. He expressed frustration with the limited progress of his initiatives, mentioning to Semafor that in his dealings with Ukrainian officials, he had "been yelled at by most everyone."
A representative from Ukraine's Land Forces Command foreign legion told CNN that Routh had contacted the command several times, but he was never part of the military unit where overseas volunteers fought.
We can verify that this individual reached out to us numerous times online. The most suitable description for his communications would be far-fetched suggestions, officer Oleksandr Shaguri stated. He proposed supplying us with numerous recruits from various nations, but it was evident that his proposals were implausible. We chose not to respond, as there was nothing worth responding to. He was never associated with the Legion and never cooperated with us in any capacity.
Michael Wasiura, a journalist who met and conversed with this individual in Ukraine in 2022, stated. After his efforts to join the country's International Legion were rejected, he established a makeshift memorial in Kyiv for foreign soldiers who had perished in the conflict.
"He was there every single day," Wasiura said. "Discussing with him, it was clear that you weren't speaking with an ordinary person. He could be described as manic possibly. He was incredibly dedicated. He was doing all of this on his own personal initiative because he cared about the cause and was incredibly devoted to that cause that he was essentially camping out in a foreign country."
Evelyn Aschenbrenner, an American citizen who served in Ukraine's International Legion for two years, informed CNN that they advised this individual several times to utilize official channels to recruit individuals to fight in Ukraine, but he simply refused to listen. Aschenbrenner displayed to CNN several messages they exchanged with this individual, in which he expressed frustration with what he perceived as Ukraine's unwillingness to accept his assistance.
"He seemed to have this grandiose delusion," Aschenbrenner said. "I'm like, 'all you're doing is causing headaches for everybody... the legion already has a recruiting website, there's no need for you to be doing this.'”
American Ryan O'Leary, an Army National Guard veteran who is battling in Ukraine and encountered this individual in 2022, described him as being "off."
"I found him harmless, but not a person who should be in a war zone, as he was all over the place mentally," O'Leary said.
Last year, this individual seemed to have authored a book regarding the war – “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: The Fatal Flaw of Democracy, World Abandonment and the Global Citizen-Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea and the end of Humanity” – and was selling a digital version on Amazon for $2.99. In the book, he criticized Trump as an "idiot," a "buffoon" and a "fool," and appeared to reference his earlier support for Trump by writing, "I am man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake."
At the same time, this individual also supported Taiwan. This individual asserted in online posts that he was involved in the "Taiwan Foreign Legion," a group allegedly recruiting foreign military personnel to fight for Taiwan in the event of a war with China. However, several people listed as supporters on the group's website informed CNN that they had no knowledge of the legion or its activities, and some had never heard of this individual before.
Newsweek Romania journalist Remus Cernea, one of the people listed on the website, informed CNN that he met this individual in Kyiv's Maidan Square in June 2022. Cernea interviewed this individual regarding his efforts to support Ukraine, and this individual said, "To me, a lot of other conflicts are gray, but this conflict is definitely black and white. This is about good versus evil."
About a year later, Cernea said, he met this individual again and remembered him being annoyed that more foreigners had not come to aid Ukraine. Cernea said he was shocked to hear that this individual was detained in connection with the Trump assassination attempt attempt.
"For me, it's a surprise, because I viewed him as an idealistic, innocent, genuine person, without any murderous instincts," Cernea said.
History of instability
In the years prior to his international endeavors however, this individual had a history of encounters with the law in his native North Carolina.
In 2002, the Greensboro News and Record newspaper reported that this individual had been apprehended after barricading himself inside a local business with a machine gun.
Court records show he was charged with felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction, among other charges, and pleaded guilty.
Tracy Fulk, a Greensboro police officer at the time, informed CNN that the incident began when she pulled this individual over for a traffic stop. She claimed she saw a gun in his car, and after she pulled out her gun, he drove away and drove into his business. This led to a standoff with a police special response team, and this individual ultimately surrendered, Fulk said.
“He was a threatening individual," Fulk said, adding that he was well-known to local law enforcement. But when he was apprehended, she remembered, "he was very quiet and he didn't really say a whole lot during my time with him.”
In the subsequent years, according to court records, this individual faced a multitude of less serious criminal accusations, several of which were eventually dismissed. He was charged in multiple cases of writing worthless checks, and pleaded guilty to one such charge in 2003. In 2009 and 2010, he was charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and possession of a stolen vehicle, both of which were dismissed, and he was found guilty of possession of stolen property, for which he received three years of probation.
The suspect in the alleged assassination plot also appeared to be experiencing financial difficulties – judges ordered him to pay tens of thousands of dollars to plaintiffs in various civil lawsuits filed against him, and state and federal authorities have repeatedly accused him of failing to pay his taxes on time.
Routh's legal troubles stand in stark contrast to his initial media portrayal: A 25-year-old Routh was portrayed as a local hero in a 1991 Greensboro News and Record article, allegedly chasing down and confronting a suspected rapist. Routh was honored by local law enforcement for his actions and was hailed as a "super citizen, if not a super hero" by the newspaper.
More recently, he relocated to Hawaii, residing in the ocean-side town of Kaʻaʻawa, with a population of approximately 1,200 people, on Oahu Island's north shore, according to public records.
Routh, with a background in roofing, started a construction company that specialized in building small homes. He gained recognition in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in 2019 for his efforts to provide housing solutions for Hawaii's homeless population. His company's website, containing images and videos of Routh constructing basic houses from what appears to be plywood, states its goal was to "provide solutions to our own problems right here on the island."
A Hawaii resident who left a negative review of Routh's company on Facebook shared with CNN his discomfort with Routh's response to the criticism. Saili Levi, owner of a vanilla company, claimed to have paid Routh $3,800 upfront to build a trailer for his business, but upon visiting Routh's workshop to review the project, found it substandard. When he requested improvements, Levi stated, Routh became irritated.
"He just kind of started ranting about, you know, ‘You think because you have money, you’re better than me?’" Levi said. "I kind of decided maybe I should just let it go for the sake of my family."
Routh also penned several letters to the editor, which were published in the Star-Advertiser newspaper, pledging to contribute labor to construct houses for the homeless, criticizing a plan to demolish an aging sports stadium as a "looming disaster," and denouncing construction workers for failing to repair potholes.
He even seemed to entertain the idea of running for Honolulu mayor this year. A makeshift "Vote for Ryan Routh" website, containing contact information that aligns with Routh's, contains over 70 posts discussing Routh's views on historical site accessibility, the island's housing crisis, his proposed "war on termites," and the nuisance posed by roosters. In the posts, mainly uploaded this summer, Routh described himself as a lifelong sober individual and stated he had spent eight months in Ukraine.
"We must press forward with logical leadership that supports those aiming to achieve great things," Routh wrote in one post. He did not appear on the ballot during the mayoral primary election last month.
Routh's oldest son, Oran, informed CNN via text that Routh was a loving and responsible father and a hardworking man.
"I don’t know what's happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been exaggerated," the younger Routh wrote. "It doesn’t sound like the man I know to engage in anything crazy, much less violent."
CNN’s Paradise Afshar, Nelli Black, Benjamin Brown, Scott Glover, Lex Harvey, Winter Hawk, Rob Kuznia, Kyung Lah, Daniel Medina, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Rob Picheta, Majlie de Puy Kamp, Sabrina Shulman, Teele Rebane, Adam Renton, and Jessie Yeung contributed to this report.
After expressing disillusionment with former President Trump and making controversial political statements on Twitter, Routh also donated modest sums to Democratic presidential hopefuls such as Tulsi Gabbard and Elizabeth Warren.
Despite his online communications with world leaders, Routh's actual impact in Ukraine seemed minimal, with Ukrainian military officials deeming his strategies as "delusional."
