A Ukraine advocate and one-time Trump supporter: What we know about the suspected would-be assassin

The man charged following an alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump had been a vocal supporter of the former president before growing radically disillusioned with the three-time GOP nominee.Here’s what's known Monday about the suspect and foiled attack.

Follow live updates on the alleged Trump assassination attempt.

When and where did it happen?

The former president was playing golf near his Mar-a-Lago home just before 2 p.m. Sunday when a Secret Service agent saw a rifle with a scope in the bushes outside the course, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.

Secret Service agents fired on the man, and the suspect did not return fire before fleeing in a black Nissan, officials said.

"The subject, who did not have a line of sight on the former president, fled the scene," U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe told reporters late Monday afternoon. "He did not fire or get off any shots at our agency."

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was pulled over and taken into custody without incident by a Martin County Sheriff’s traffic unit on Interstate 95, authorities said.

What kind of weapons were involved?

An AK-47-style rifle was recovered from the scene near a fence by the golf course, Bradshaw said. Two backpacks and a GoPro camera were also nearby.

He's been charged with two federal crimes, alleged possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with its serial number obliterated.

What had he been doing on Sunday?

Cellphone records indicate the suspect had been near the former president's golf course for about 12 hours before a Secret Service agent confronted him and fired at him, officials said Monday.

He was armed and had food with him during this time span, officials said.

What was his involvement with Ukraine?

Routh was very open about his support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion and said he traveled to the eastern European nation to see the battle zone.

But the extent of his work on behalf of Kyiv wasn't clear.

In an interview with Newsweek Romania in 2022, Routh said he had volunteered to fight for the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine but was turned down because of his age and lack of combat experience.

Instead, Routh claimed, he opted to help with military recruitment efforts in Kyiv. A representative of the International Legion told NBC News on Monday that Routh never served in that fighting force.

Did he support or oppose Trump?

Routh said in 2020 that he had backed candidate Trump in the past, but expressed his disappointment with the Trump presidency.

He tweeted at Trump on June 10 of that year: "While you were my choice in 2106, I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving ... I will be glad when you gone."

The suspect appeared to be fully behind then-Democrat Tulsi Gabbard and her bid for the 2020 presidential nomination that was eventually won by Joe Biden.

He later soured on Gabbard for what he perceived as her alignment with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, writing on X in 2022, "why don't you go and Join Putin and trump and be their third wheel."

There was no immediate evidence in Routh's social media postings that he was ever a supporter of Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris.

He threw his 2020 Democratic presidential support behind Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, while deriding "sleepy Joe" who "stands for nothing; no plans, no ideas, just as limp hillary," he wrote on March 4, 2020.

Does he have a criminal history?

Records show more than 100 criminal counts have been filed against Routh in North Carolina. In 2002, court records state, he was convicted of possessing a weapon of mass destruction — a machine gun.

In that case, a man named Ryan Routh, 36 at the time, allegedly led authorities on a vehicle chase before he holed up at a roofing company in Greensboro, North Carolina, according to an account by the Greensboro News & Record.

What did he do for a living?

The suspect had run a company, Camp Box Honolulu, building storage units and tiny houses, according to his LinkedIn page.

He was quoted in a 2019 Honolulu Star-Advertiser story about giving a structure to homeless people.

“As a community, if we can all come together and put our resources together, it would be extremely beneficial,” Routh told the newspaper. “All of us are tired of seeing the homeless people all over the island with nowhere to go.”