NC man held after attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump

Investigators are questioning a Greensboro man in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

This comes nine weeks after Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Ryan Wesley Routh of Greensboro is in custody after the Secret Service spotted a scope pointed at the former president while he golfing at his course in Florida.

Routh has an extensive criminal history in North Carolina that includes convictions between 2002 and 2010 of possession of weapons of mass destruction, carrying a concealed gun, hit and run, possession of stolen goods and resisting law enforcement, among other charges.

He’s registered in North Carolina as an unaffiliated voter. In North Carolina, unaffiliated voters can choose which primary they want to vote in. Routh chose Democrats.

Routh has also made small donations through ActBlue throughout the 2024 election cycle. ActBlue is an online platform used by Democrats for fundraising.

Secret Service is reported to have fired at the attempted shooter after spotting his weapon, an AK-47. The man ran, leaving behind two backpacks in the bushes of the golf course. A witness took photographs of his black Nissan, with his license plate, which led investigators to Routh.

In June, just days before the Republican National Convention, Trump held a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired at Trump striking his ear. Snipers returned fire killing Crooks instantly.

The incident in Pennsylvania led to the resignation of the Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle and the formation of a Congressional committee to investigate how someone was able to get that close to Trump with a gun.

Trump’s schedule Sunday was not public, and it’s not clear how the attempted assassin knew where he would be.

Trump is scheduled to be in Wilmington on Saturday for a rally.