Ryan Wesley Routh, the man accused in the second attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, has previously said he regrets voting for Trump in 2016. Some media outlets have taken his words at face value.
In journalism, however, the rule of thumb used to be: if your mother says she loves you, check it out. Likewise, if an accused would-be assassin with a long criminal rap sheet says he voted for the guy he’s alleged to have aimed his gun at, check it out.
In this case, that is not a simple task. The available evidence does not seem to verify that Routh voted for Trump at all, and it is clear his criminal history far predates his alleged assassination attempt.
Routh was arrested this week for allegedly pointing a gun through a fence onto the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump was playing golf only a few hundred yards away. Records show Routh, 58, has been a solid Democrat for years. Records show he has lived much of his life in North Carolina, and voting records show he often voted there.
In 2018, Routh “moved to the small town of Kaaawa, Hawaii,” according to the Associated Press. Rex Quidilla, an elections administrator at the Office of the City Clerk for the city and county of Honolulu, reportedly told The Center Square Routh is currently “an active registered voter” in a Hawaii precinct.
Routh made modest donations through ActBlue to Democrat campaigns in 2019 and 2020, including contributions to Tulsi Gabbard, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang, Beto O’Rourke, and Tom Steyer. The “source information” for these donations indicates that they were based in Kaaawa, Hawaii, and that the donor was listed as “not employed.” The donations ranged from $1 to $25.
Most recently, Routh voted in person, as a Democrat, in North Carolina’s March 5, 2024, primary election, according to state voting records. Therefore, he could be registered to vote in both states.
North Carolina makes voter records easy to find — simply enter someone’s name. Hawaii requires both a driver’s license number and Social Security number to see someone’s voter record. Given this, it is tough to determine whether Routh voted in the same elections in both states, which would be illegal.
According to The Center Square, “Quidilla said he was not allowed to say whether Routh participated in the Hawaii primaries on Aug. 10. Asked if his office is investigating, he confirmed it is not.”
North Carolina records show Routh voted in the state’s general or municipal elections in 2008, 2009, and 2012, as well as in this year’s primary. His current voter status is listed as “active” in the state.
Although he reportedly both posted on his social media (which has “now been suspended“) and mentioned in a self-published book that he voted for Trump in 2016 and regretted that vote, North Carolina has no record of Routh voting in that state in 2016, and, as previously mentioned, it appears he didn’t move to Hawaii until 2018.
According to Routh’s North Carolina voting record, his vote is also missing in the state in 2010 and 2011. In 2010, Routh was convicted of several felonies involving possession of stolen goods, according to recently released court documents. In North Carolina, a person convicted of a felony loses the right to vote until they have “completed their sentence,” including time in prison or jail, any period of probation time, post-release supervision, “or parole associated with a felony sentence.”
Routh’s criminal history appears to precede this 2010 conviction. According to the documents, Routh’s criminal history also includes “previous charges of transferring and receiving stolen property in 2006,” two counts of “possession of stolen property, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and numerous narcotics charges.” He was often stopped for traffic violations and was found several times to be driving without insurance and registration in 2006 and 2007.
Over two decades ago, Routh pled guilty to possessing a “weapon of mass destruction,” described in a brief April 2002 indictment as a “binary explosive device with a detonation cord and a blasting cap.” The indictment is strangely short on details, not describing the circumstances of the incident, only that he possessed this instrument. This was a felony conviction.
Routh was recommended for 15-19 months in prison, but received a suspended sentence with supervised probation for 60 months with conditions. The “special conditions of probation” included that Routh not operate a motor vehicle “until licensed,” not possess any firearms or explosive devices, and that he obtain a mental health assessment, complying with “any recommended cause of treatment,” as summarized in the the corresponding case documents. The documents also note that police were ordered to remove all firearms and explosive devices from Routh, and the weapons be forfeited and disposed of.
This agreement document lists Routh’s prior convictions, including writing bad checks since at least 1992, a 1997 larceny conviction, and failure to appear in court.