FBI tipped off in 2019 that Trump's alleged would-be assassin had firearm as a felon

The FBI received a tip about the alleged, would-be assassin of former President Donald Trump in 2019 for being a felon in possession of a firearm, the federal law enforcement agency confirmed Monday.

Jeffrey Veltri, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Miami Field Office, said Monday during a press conference that the bureau had been tipped off in 2019 about Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, who was arrested Sunday in connection with the attempted assassination of Trump.

Routh was charged Monday with possession of a firearm as a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

"I can also share with you that he was the subject of a previously closed 2019 tip to the FBI where it was alleged he was a felon in possession of a firearm," Veltri said Monday. "In 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."

Routh was convicted in Greensboro, N.C., in 2002 for having a weapon of mass death and destruction, according to federal prosecutors. In 2010, he was convicted of multiple counts of possession of stolen goods.

Routh lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving to Kaaawa, Hawaii, in 2018.