Ryan Routh, a man with multiple past convictions, allegedly aimed a gun at former President Donald Trump during an incident at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach on Sunday. This event is just one in a series of legal issues that have followed Routh throughout his life. In 2002, Routh was involved in a three-hour standoff with police where he was convicted for carrying a “weapon of mass destruction,” which refers to a fully automatic machine gun in this context.
Routh’s history includes other convictions between 2002 and 2010, including felony possession of stolen goods and misdemeanor charges of carrying a concealed gun, hit and run, and resisting law enforcement. His most recent legal trouble involved facing a federal tax lien in 2008 for about $32,000.
In the alleged assassination attempt at Trump’s golf club, Secret Service agents noticed Routh’s AK-47 protruding from bushes along the course and opened fire before he fled the scene. He has not yet been charged in connection with this incident.