Man who appeared intent on killing Trump wrote a book urging Iran to assassinate the ex-president

KAAAWA, Hawaii (AP) — Ryan Wesley Routh portrayed himself online as a man who built housing for homeless people in Hawaii, tried to recruit fighters for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia, and described his support and then disdain for Donald Trump — even urging Iran to kill him.

“You are free to assassinate Trump,” Routh wrote of Iran in an apparently self-published book in 2023, “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” which described the former president as a “fool” and “buffoon” for both the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and the “tremendous blunder” of leaving the Iran nuclear deal.

Routh wrote that he once voted for Trump and must take part of the blame for the "child that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless.”

Routh, 58, was arrested Sunday after authorities say he stalked the GOP presidential nominee as he golfed in West Palm Beach, Florida, with an SKS-style rifle in an apparent assassination attempt thwarted by the Secret Service.

Through his voluminous online footprint, public records, news interviews and videos, a picture emerged of Routh as a man with a criminal past, plenty of outrage and views ranging from the left to the right, including support for Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard, Nikki Haley and Trump.

Voter records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in person during the state’s Democratic primary in March.

Routh also made 19 small donations totaling $140 since 2019 through ActBlue, a political action committee that distributes donations to Democratic candidates, according to federal campaign finance records.

In a tweet in June 2020, after the police killing of George Floyd, Routh said then-President Trump could win reelection by issuing an executive order to prosecute police misconduct. However, in recent years, his posts appear to have soured on Trump, and he expressed support for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.

“DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose,” he wrote on X in April in support of Biden.

In July, following the assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, a post on Routh’s account urged Biden and Harris to visit those wounded in the shooting and attend the funeral of the firefighter who was killed.

“Trump will never do anything for them,” Routh wrote.

In his book, listed on Amazon and viewed by the AP, Routh noted, “I get so tired of people asking me if I am a Democrat or Republican as I refuse to be put in a category.”

The world would be better if it were run by women, he wrote in the book that has links to his website and X account, because “it seems that the totality of the world’s problems revolve around men with massive insecurity and childlike intelligence and behavior.”

He posted frequently on social media about Ukraine and other conflicts, and had a website seeking to raise money and recruit volunteers to fight for Kyiv. A photo of the wiry, wild-haired Routh on his site shows him smiling, wearing a T-shirt and jacket adorned with U.S. flags.

“This is about good versus evil,” Routh said in a video circulating online. And in a tweet, he said, “I am going to fight and die for Ukraine.”

Video shot by the AP showed Routh at a small demonstration in Kyiv’s Independence Square in April 2022, two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of the country.

A placard he was holding said: “We cannot tolerate corruption and evil for another 50+ years. End Russia for our kids.”

That same day, he also visited a makeshift memorial to “Foreigners killed by Putin.”

But Routh never served in the Ukrainian army or worked with its military, said Oleksandr Shahuri of the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command.

Shahuri told the AP that Routh periodically contacted the International Legion of Ukraine with what he described as “nonsensical ideas” that "can best be described as delusional.”

Routh appeared in a video standing in front of the U.S. Capitol and expressing frustration that Ukraine wasn’t taking more of the Afghan commandos he tried to recruit.

“They’re afraid that anybody and everybody is a Russian spy,” he told news website Semafor in 2023.

Earlier this year, he even tweeted at singers Bruno Mars and Dave Matthews to organize a “We are the World”-style effort for Kyiv. “We need an emotional tribute song for Ukraine as support stalls,” he wrote. “I have lyrics and music.”

Routh also tweeted to former basketball star Dennis Rodman, asking for help lifting sanctions against North Korea to ease tension with the country. In another, he invites a dozen protesters in Hong Kong to stay at his Hawaii home to escape a Chinese crackdown.

Routh lived most of his life in Greensboro, North Carolina, where his run-ins with law enforcement included a 2002 felony conviction for possessing explosives, detonation cord and a blasting cap, according to court records.

The News & Record of Greensboro reported that the arrest came after Routh fled from a traffic stop and held off police for three hours with “a fully automatic machine gun" at a roofing business. State records listed him as the business owner.

Court records show authorities seized the explosives and an undefined number of firearms from Routh. As part of a plea deal, Routh agreed to undergo a mental health evaluation and comply with any treatment recommendations. The documents provided to the AP by the county clerk of court on Monday do not include the results of that evaluation.

Records also show Routh was convicted of a felony count of possession of stolen goods in 2010, as well as misdemeanors including illegally carrying a concealed weapon, a hit-and-run, speeding and driving with a revoked license.

Court records from the 2010 felony case say detectives determined Routh was storing stolen building supplies and other items at his roofing business warehouse, where he was living at the time. Money from the sale of the stolen goods was used to purchase crack cocaine, according to a police affidavit used to get a search warrant.

In both the felony cases, court records show judges sentenced Routh to either probation or a suspended sentence, allowing him to escape prison time.

It was not immediately clear how Routh was able to obtain a weapon. In most states, it is generally forbidden for a person convicted of a felony to purchase or possess a firearm.

In 2018, Routh moved to the small town of Kaaawa, Hawaii, about 45 minutes outside Honolulu, to go in business with his adult son building small wooden sheds. According to his LinkedIn page, the structures would “help address the highest homelessness rate in the United States due to unparalleled gentrification.”

“All of us are tired of seeing the homeless people all over the island with nowhere to go,” he told Honolulu’s Star-Advertiser in 2019.

No one answered the door Sunday at his blue stucco house near the beach that is colorfully painted with wooden cutouts of fish. A white pickup truck with a Biden-Harris bumper sticker and a flat tire was in the driveway.

Neighbor Christopher Tam said Routh kept to himself and was respectful, cordial and kind.

“It’s just been very surprising,” Tam said. “If he did have anything to do with it, it’s very shocking to us."

Biesecker reported from Washington and Condon and Sisak reported from New York. AP writers Alanna Durkin Richer, Michael Balsamo, Colleen Long and Eric Tucker in Washington, Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed. Researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York also contributed.

Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org

In this image taken from police body camera video and released by the Martin County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement officers arrest Ryan Routh, the man suspected in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

In this imaged released by the Martin County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement officers arrest Ryan Routh, the man suspected in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

The house of Ryan Routh is seen in Kaaawa, Hawaii, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. Routh is in police custody in connection with the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump on Sunday in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

The house of Ryan Routh is seen in Kaaawa, Hawaii, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. Routh is in police custody in connection with the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump on Sunday in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

Ryan Wesley Routh pays tribute to foreign citizens killed during Russia-Ukraine war in a central square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ryan Wesley Routh holds up a banner during a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)

Ryan Wesley Routh, right, takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Man accused of trying to kill Trump wrote a book urging Iran to assassinate the ex-president

Man accused of trying to kill Trump wrote a book urging Iran to assassinate the ex-president

Ryan Wesley Routh takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

NEW YORK (AP) — Fresh off her Emmys win, Jean Smart is taking her comedy to a new audience — she’ll kick off “Saturday Night Live’s” landmark 50th season.

NBC on Thursday announced the lineup of hosts for the season, which premieres Sept. 28. Joining Smart on the first show will be Jelly Roll as the musical act. He was also at the Emmys, singing during the ceremony's in memoriam segment.

It will be Smart's first time hosting “SNL” and Jelly Roll's first time performing on the show. Smart shared the news on Instagram, writing that hosting was a “bucket list” item for her.

The rest of the hosts and musical guests — save breakout sensation Chappell Roan, who will make her musical guest debut in November — are returning to the series. Comedian Nate Bargatze, who hosted last October to great success, thanks to a sketch where he played George Washington, will host again Oct. 5, with Coldplay as the musical guest. Coldplay has previously performed on the show seven times, and will ring in the eighth right after the band's newest album, “Moon Music,” releases.

Ariana Grande — who stars in the upcoming “Wicked” film adaption — will host for the second time Oct. 12. She has previously been the musical guest twice, but Fleetwood Mac icon Stevie Nicks will perform for Grande's episode. Nicks was a musical guest once prior, in 1983.

“Beetlejuice” star Michael Keaton will host on Oct. 19, the last show before Halloween, in his fourth time on the show, and Billie Eilish will be that night's musical guest, also marking her fourth time on “SNL.”

“SNL” alum John Mulaney will return to the show as host for the sixth time on Nov. 2, with Roan as the music guest. Mulaney, who worked as a writer on the show before making it big as a stand-up comedian, is behind some of “SNL's” most well-known bits, like Bill Hader as Stefon, a “Weekend Update” regular.

The 50th season has been highly anticipated during the show's summer hiatus, with fans calling for Maya Rudolph to reprise her role as Kamala Harris and clamoring for Tim Walz-lookalike Steve Martin to make an appearance as the vice presidential candidate, a role he has since declined.

This combination of photos shows Jean Smart, from left, Nate Bargatze, Ariana Grande, and Michael Keaton, who will host upcoming episodes of "Saturday Night Live." (AP Photo)

Chappell Roan accepts the award for best new artist during the MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Jelly Roll arrives at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Jean Smart poses in the press room with the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for "Hacks" during the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)