Ryan Wesley Routh, gunman in Trump assassination attempt, was willing to fight and die in Ukraine
The alleged gunman who authorities say tried to kill former President Donald Trump Sunday previously pledged his support for Ukraine in its war against Russia — going as far as to say he was ready to “fight and die” for Kyiv, according to a report.Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was hit with two federal gun charges on Monday, one day after he took aim at Trump 400 yards away through the fence at a West Palm Beach club where the former president was golfing.
However, not long before his arrest, Routh was trying to recruit volunteers on social media to fight in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported.“I would tremendously enjoy the invitation to join any monumental worthy cause to bring about real change in our world,” Routh once wrote in his LinkedIn profile.
“I am certainly free to relocate to any remote location on the planet that might render the most positive impact.”When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Routh began to encourage non-Ukrainians to travel to the country to fight, writing that he was ready to “fight and die” for the cause, the outlet reported.“We need to burn the Kremlin to the ground and put an end to Putin and Russia,” he wrote at the time about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Routh then traveled to Kyiv in April 2022 where he was rejected from joining Ukraine’s military service — prompting him to begin to persuade others to join the fight.“That was his main task—that he assigned to himself,” Chris Lutz, a German humanitarian volunteer who knew Routh in Ukraine told the Journal.
“He wasn’t officially assigned by the armed forces of Ukraine.It was just kind of his personal mission to do so.”Upon his arrival Routh also tweeted at the official account of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, writing that he was in Kyiv and planned to erect a tent city in the capital to attract foreign fighters.
“We can raise great support and equipment,” he wrote.Routh, who often wore an American flag T-sh...