Alleged would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh donated exclusively to Democrats since 2019
The Hawaii man suspected in former President Donald Trump’s assassination attempt on Sunday is a long-time Democrat, donating exclusively to the party’s candidates 19 times since 2019, records show.
Between September 2019 and March 2020, Ryan Routh contributed more than $140 on the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue, Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show.
Follow the latest on the foiled assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Florida
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- Trump assures he’s ‘SAFE AND WELL’ after Secret Service fires at man armed with assault rifle at president’s golf resort
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The filings indicate he lived in Kaaawa, Hawaii, at the time of the donations. The records indicate that he was “not employed.”
While the money went to ActBlue, it was earmarked for individual 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidates including former Rep. Beto O’Rourk (D-Texas), Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer of New York and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (R-Mass.)
He also donated several times to Hawaii’s former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who then identified as a Democrat but has since switched parties and now supports Trump.
The dollar amounts given ranged from $1 to $25 and occured only during the six-month time period of the 2020 election’s primary season.
None were earmarked for President Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris.
Here's what we know about the assassination attempt on Trump in Florida:
- Former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15, 2024.
- Trump sent out a statement to supporters soon after to report that he was “SAFE AND WELL.”
- The suspect — identified as Ryan Routh, 58, of Hawaii — was able to get within 300 to 500 yards of Trump at a chain link fence on the edge of the course, where he had an AK-47 and a GoPro camera set up, apparently to record the planned shooting.
- Routh has a history of supporting progressive causes online and has made 19 donations to Democratic candidates since 2019.
- A Secret Service agent spotted and opened fire on Routh as he put his gun through the fence. The suspect fled and was arrested on I-95 a short time later.
- According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Trump’s security detail was lighter because he isn’t a sitting president — despite the previous attempt on his life in July.
Routh, 58, claimed in other social media posts that he supported Donald Trump in his first presidential campaign in 2016 — but later became disillusioned after his chosen candidate won office.
“@realDonaldTrump While you were my choice in 2106 [sic], 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; are you retarded; I will be glad when you gone,” Routh tweeted on June 11, 2020.
Other posts on his now-suspended X account show he backed Gabbard during the 2020 Democratic primary over Biden or Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
During the 2024 Republican primary, Routh posted in support of biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
