Trump shooting suspect was previously charged with possessing weapons of mass destruction
Ryan Wesley Routh, suspect with gun linked to the assassination of former President Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Club in Florida on Sunday, has been charged with possessing weapons of mass destruction more than 20 years ago.
“I thought he was dead or in jail,” Tracy Fulk, the police officer in charge of the case, told WIRED. “I had no idea he had moved on and gone on his adventures.”
According to court records from the Guilford County District Court in North Carolina obtained by WIRED, Routh was arrested by the Greensboro Police Department on December 16, 2002.
Local reports from Greensboro News and Records In 2002, Routh was stopped by police during a traffic stop. Routh then drove to the United Roofing company, where he barricaded himself for three hours, police said at the time.
Fulk said he was well known in the area and police often received warnings about him because of his alleged involvement with weapons and explosives, as she recalled.
“One night, I recognized him in his car,” she said. “I knew he didn’t have a driver’s license, so I stopped him right in front of his roofing shop, which used to be on Lee Street in Greensboro. He stopped, and as I got closer to his truck, he pulled a bag out of the middle of the seat, and I saw a gun. So of course I pulled out my gun and started saying, ‘Hey! Show me your hands, show me your hands.’ And he just pulled into his driveway and ran into his house. So we ended up having a [Special Response Team] called and struggled for several hours before they came in and we arrested him.”
Routh was charged with possession of a fully automatic machine gun, which court records refer to as a weapon of mass destruction. He was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon, as well as driving without a valid license and resisting, delaying and obstructing law enforcement, according to the Greensboro News and Record.
Although the outcome of the case is not entirely clear, 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 the fence surrounding the golf course and engaged the threat, firing at least four rounds in that direction. It is unclear whether the gunman fired any shots. Law enforcement later found an AK-47-style rifle with a scope and a GoPro in the bushes.
