Ryan Routh’s Smirking Florida Mugshot After Alleged Assassination Attempt
|The suspect charged with allegedly attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump smirks in a newly released mugshot from Palm Beach County.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, stands around six feet tall, weighs 140 pounds, and has dirty blonde hair and green eyes. In his mugshot, he appears clean-cut, a sharp contrast to his disheveled appearance in the arrest video.
In the arrest video, he wears black sunglasses and a pink shirt draped haphazardly over his neck, with his hair messy.
Th FBI searched the home of Routh on Tuesday continuing their ongoing investigation.
The federal agents are seeking evidence against Routh, aiming to uncover his motive, which he has yet to reveal to investigators.
They are also examining Routh’s extensive online footprint, which reveals his evolving political views, including a recent hostility toward Trump and intense outrage over global events, particularly those involving China and Ukraine.
The Context
Routh was arrested on Sunday in connection with the attempt to shoot the former president, 78, at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Routh camped outside the golf course for nearly 12 hours with food and a rifle, waiting for the former president until a Secret Service agent stopped the potential attack by opening fire.
Officials said Routh never fired any shots, never had Trump in his line of sight, and sped away, leaving behind a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope, and a plastic bag of food. He was arrested in a neighboring county.
Trump was unharmed in the attempted attack, and he returned to his home at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach afterward. It is the second assassination attempt on Trump in a period of about two months.
In a federal court appearance Monday morning, Routh was charged with two gun crimes—possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Routh’s Criminal History
This isn’t Routh’s first encounter with law enforcement.
Routh spent most of his adult life in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he had multiple run-ins with the law over the years in Guilford County. These included a 2002 felony conviction for possessing a weapon of mass destruction and a 2010 felony for stolen goods.
His record also includes numerous misdemeanors such as carrying a concealed weapon, hit-and-run, speeding and driving with a revoked license.
What’s Next
Routh is scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing on September 23, followed by a formal arraignment on September 30, where he could also face additional charges.
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