Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspected gunman involved in Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida, possessed weapons of mass destruction more than 20 years ago. was indicted for the crime.
“I thought he was either dead or in jail,” Tracy Faulk, the officer in charge of the case, told WIRED. “I had no idea he had moved on and was on the run.”
Routh was arrested by the Greensboro Police Department on December 16, 2002, according to court records from Guilford, North Carolina District Court obtained by WIRED.
According to a local report in the Greensboro News and Record in 2002, Routh was pulled over by police during a traffic stop. Police said at the time that Routh then drove to a United Roofing store, where he remained barricaded for three hours.
Fulk said he was well known in the area and that, as she recalled, he would be reported to police on suspicion of being involved with weapons and explosives.
“One night I found myself in his car,” she says. “I knew he didn’t have a driver’s license, so I stopped him in front of a roofing shop on Lee Street in Greensboro. As I approached, he pulled the bag away from the center of the seat and I could see the gun. So of course I pulled it out and started saying, “Hey! Show me your hands, show me your hands. And he basically parked his car in the driveway and ran into the house. So what ended up happening was a[special response team]was called in and there was a huge standoff that lasted several hours, and then they moved in and arrested him. ”
Routh was charged with possession of a fully automatic machine gun, which is referred to as a weapon of mass destruction in court filings. He was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon, driving without a valid license and resisting, delaying or obstructing law enforcement, the Greensboro News and Record reported.
The handling of the case is not entirely clear, but Routh pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed firearm.
Trump was not injured while golfing Sunday. Law enforcement arrested Routh after a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle protruding from a perimeter fence on the course and fired at least four shots in its direction, threatening Routh. It is unclear whether the gunman fired a gun. Law enforcement later found an AK-47-style rifle with a scope and a GoPro in the bushes.
Law enforcement officers search the area around Trump International Golf Club after an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida on September 15, 2024.
Photo: Joe Radle/Getty Images
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