Ryan Wesley Routh, who allegedly attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at the Trump Worldwide Golf Club in Florida on Sunday, had been previously charged with possessing a weapon of mass destruction over 20 years prior.
According to Tracy Fulk, the charging officer involved in the case, she initially assumed that the suspect was either languishing in prison or had become completely ineffectual. “I was oblivious to the fact that he had already moved on, yet continued to indulge in his reckless behavior.”
According to court records from the Guilford District Court in North Carolina, which were obtained by WIRED, Routh was apprehended by the Greensboro Police Department on December 16, 2002.
According to native reports from 2002, Routh was stopped multiple times by the police while on a visit. Afterward, Routh drove to the Enterprise United Roofing, where he spent three hours barricaded inside, according to police reports at the time.
According to Fulk, his reputation preceded him within the space, with police receiving notifications linking him to alleged involvement in weapons and explosives incidents, as he recalls.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, she found herself face-to-face with him once again, this time outside his parked vehicle. I’d stopped by to visit my old buddy at his roofing supply store on Lee Road in Greensboro, when I realized he hadn’t obtained his driver’s license yet, so I pulled up alongside him and made sure he got a proper sendoff. As I drew near to his truck, he paused, revealing a sack previously obstructing the middle of the seat, which then caught my attention was a firearm. I swiftly pulled out my firearm, uttering a stern “Attention!” With a sudden, abrupt movement, the man hastily guided his vehicle onto the property, softly scraping against the façade of his residence. After a tense situation unfolded, the Special Response Team was deployed to resolve the crisis, leading to a prolonged standoff that lasted several hours before authorities gained entry and successfully apprehended the individual.
Routh was accused of possessing a fully automatic machine gun, formally classified as a weapon of mass destruction in official court records. He was further accused of possessing a concealed weapon, along with driving without a valid licence and hindering law enforcement by resisting, delaying and obstructing their efforts, according to the Greensboro News & Record.
While the outcome of the case remains uncertain, Routh admitted guilt to possessing a concealed weapon.
President Trump enjoyed a round of golf on Sunday without incident. Law enforcement officials apprehended 23-year-old Derek Routh after a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle protruding from a nearby fence on the course and took immediate action to mitigate the threat, discharging his weapon and firing at least four rounds in the vicinity. Whether the gunman actually discharged his weapon remains ambiguous. Law enforcement officials subsequently unearthed an AK-47-style rifle equipped with a scope and a GoPro camera hidden amidst the foliage.
