Alleged assassin’s criminal record, foreign travel raise questions U.S. intel may be able to answer

The extensive criminal record, strange writings and unusual foreign travel of former President Donald Trump’s second would-be assassin raise more questions than answers. However, U.S. intelligence agencies may already have some answers. 

Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami Field Office, at a press conference in South Florida told reporters that the Department of Justice National Security Division was working closely with the local U.S. Attorney's Office to investigate the assassination attempt. 

"In the last 24 hours, the FBI and our partners have been dedicated to investigating the incident and utilizing all available resources," he said. "These efforts have included our investigative team and the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, in conjunction with DOJ National Security Division, are actively working hand in hand to pursue and subsequently execute search warrants." 

The division role is to ensure coordination among prosecutors, law enforcement and the intelligence community, according to its mission statement. 

One former FBI agent said he would be “shocked” if the person charged in connection with the incident, Ryan Wesley Routh, was not already on the radar of U.S. intelligence agencies, specifically if his electronic devices had not been monitored prior to the assassination attempt Sunday. 

The FBI already confirmed Monday that a tip came in 2019 that Routh was in possession of a firearm as a felon, however, it does not appear local police pursued the lead after it was referred by the bureau. 

Routh’s foreign travel to Ukraine and plans to recruit ex-Afghan soldiers to fight against Russia all likely put Routh in the crosshairs of other U.S. intelligence agencies as well. 

Jeff Danik, a 28-year veteran of the FBI, said based on his experience asking what information those other agencies already know about Routh would be one of the first tasks in any investigation. 

“I asked about it in almost every case I had, especially in counterterrorism Division at the FBI when I was there, what did the other intelligence agencies know about this American citizen out on the battlefield and who was recruiting in Afghanistan?” Jeff Danik told the John Solomon Reports podcast Monday.

“These are target countries,” he said, explaining that Routh’s travel to Ukraine and efforts to recruit Afghan fighters would mean worlds he operated in are “legitimate collection points” for the CIA, the NSA, and Five Eyes Intelligence partners—the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. 

“So an American traipsing around in that battleground is going to perceive focus, I would be shocked if one of the intelligence agencies didn't have his devices compromised,” he said. “All that data and collection is going to be classified, of course, but my question is, does it even exist? Do we know who he was contacting?” 

Routh’s rebranding into a Ukraine advocate and recruiter of foreign fighters followed a decades-long criminal record in his home city of Greensboro, North Carolina, where he was charged with several crimes, including felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction—a machine gun—according to court records. 

Routh was ultimately convicted of the charge along with carrying a concealed weapon, possessing stolen property, and a hit-and-run. There are also charges related to driving with a suspended license, according to the court records obtained from Guilford County, NC, where Greensboro is situated. 

There is no record of Routh spending any time in prison for the convictions, according to NBC News. The records also show several civil judgements resulting from lawsuits by contractors and individuals against a roofing company he helped run. 

“I figured he was either dead or in prison by now,” Tracy Fulk, the charging officer in Routh’s Dec. 16, 2002, arrest for felony possession of the machine gun told WIRED Sunday. “I had no clue that he had moved on and was continuing his escapades.”

According to the Greensboro News & Record, Routh was arrested after he barricaded himself in his business leading to a three-hour standoff with local police. Routh was pulled over around 10 p.m. that evening in a traffic stop, but after flashing his firearm, drove to his company and locked himself in, according to the local paper. 

Fulk recently filled in more detail, telling WIRED that Routh was well known by local police, telling the outlet that they would receive alerts about him for weapons and explosives allegations. 

“One night I recognized him in his vehicle,” she said, describing the night of the arrest. “I knew he didn’t have a driver’s license, so I stopped him right in front of his roofing shop, which was what used to be on Lee Street in Greensboro. He stopped, and as I approached his truck he pulled a sack away from the center of the seat, and I saw a gun. So of course I drew my gun and started saying, ‘Hey! Show me your hands, show me your hands.’ And he just basically pulled into his driveway and ran into his house. So we ended up having a [Special Response Team] callout and a big standoff for a couple of hours before they went in and we arrested him.”

SAC Veltri confirmed Monday during a press conference, that Routh was convicted on the charge of possessing the machine gun, though it is unclear whether the would-be assassin spent any time in prison. 

Veltri also said that bureau received a tip in 2019 that Routh was a felon in possession of a firearm and eventually forwarded that tip to local law enforcement in Honolulu. Routh lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving to Kaaawa, Hawaii, in 2018.

Routh has expressed a wide range of political opinions according to social media posts, but recently, animus against Trump became more apparent. 

In a book published last year, Routh published a treatise on the Russia-Ukraine War, the conflict that appeared to be consuming his life, according to interviews, social media posts, and public reports. 

Routh wrote, giving permission for Iran to assassinate former President Trump for abandoning the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the nuclear deal. 

“I must take part of the blame for the retarded child that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless, but I am man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake and Iran I apologize,” Routh wrote, apologizing to Iran for his vote in 2016 for Trump, on whom he had now soured. “You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the deal.”

In his book, Routh also described the former president as a "buffoon" and a "fool" for his role in the January 6 riot and called him an “idiot.” 

Routh traveled to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion began and sought to volunteer to fight in the conflict, according to an interview he gave to Newsweek Romania in 2022. After being rejected by the foreign legion because of his age and lack of experience, he went about trying to recruit foreign fighters. 

In the interview, it seems Routh was fully converted to the cause. Asked by a reporter why he was in Ukraine, Routh said, “Many other conflicts are somehow in a gray area, for me this conflict is definitely black and white. It is clearly about the battle between good and evil.” 

He also saiid, “My original goal was to come and fight. All of us, from the entire planet, should be motivated to support Ukraine and its army, regardless of gender, age, or other characteristics. But I'm 56 years old and have no military experience, so I'm not an ideal candidate to actually fight.

"So plan B was to come to Kiev and promote the idea of many others coming to join the International Legion. We need thousands of people here to fight alongside the Ukrainians."

Routh was previously interviewed by Semafor and the New York Times about his efforts to recruit foreign soldiers for the Eastern European country. 

He specifically told the Times about an intricate plot to seek recruits from among former Afghan soldiers fleeing the Taliban and transfer them to Ukraine to fight Russia. 

“We can probably purchase some passports through Pakistan, since it’s such a corrupt country,” he said in an interview. 

In the press conference Monday, Veltri confirmed that the bureau was investigating the reports those and other reports of Routh’s activities.