Fox News correspondent, Lucas Tomlinson, discusses reports of a shooting near former President Trumps golf club in West Palm Beach on Fox News Live.
Join Fox News for access to this content Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge. By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. Please enter a valid email address. By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. Having trouble? Click here.
The 58-year-old man accused of pointing an AK-47 at former President Donald Trump on Sunday afternoon has a prolific arrest record that spans several decades.
Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested shortly after the incident at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. Authorities said Secret Service agents fired at him after seeing the muzzle of his AK-47 pointing through a chain-link fence one hole ahead of where Trump was playing.
Authorities are treating the episode as an apparent assassination attempt on Trump.
A background check on the name given by officials, Ryan Wesley Routh, revealed that he currently lives in Hawaii and has faced dozens of run-ins with police, stretching back to at least the 1990s.
Routh is a native of North Carolina, where his list of arrests includes simple drug possession, driving without a license, expired inspection and operating a vehicle with no insurance. In addition, the Greensboro News & Record reported in 2002 that Routh was arrested after barricading himself in his roofing companys office during a three-hour standoff that followed a traffic stop in which he put his hand on a gun before fleeing.
TRUMP SAFE AFTER GUNSHOTS IN HIS VICINITY, CAMPAIGN SAYS
Ryan Routh is accused of aiming an AK-47 at former President Trump while he was golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday. It is being investigated as a second assassination attempt on Trump. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
Sheriff vehicles are pictured near Trump International Golf Club, Sunday. Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla., after gunshots were reported in the vicinity of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Stephanie Matat)
Routh moved to Hawaii in 2017, records show. He has since launched another construction company in Hawaii that builds simple housing structures for homeless people, according to a LinkedIn page that appears to belong to Routh.
“This does not appear to be some random guy with an AK-47 walking outside Trumps club,” an official said after the Sunday afternoon incident.
News of the incident broke shortly after Trump was safely escorted off of the golf course.
A Secret Service member spotted the would-be gunman while Trump was playing on the courses fifth hole. Officials say he abandoned an AK-47, a go-pro camera and two backpacks along a chain-link fence that borders the sixth hole of the course.
Routh fled in an SUV after a member of the Secret Service fired on him, but was soon arrested, according to authorities.
Trumps campaign quickly issued a statement that the 45th president was safe, with Trump following up in a message to supporters that he will “never surrender.”
Fox News Lucas Tomlinson confirmed that the Secret Service opened fire after they saw a man lift an AK-47. The suspect took off in a car but was quickly apprehended, authorities said.
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“There were gunshots in my vicinity but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” he wrote in a message that was shared on social media.
“Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!” he continued. “I will always love you for supporting me. Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again. May God bless you.”
