Officials: Suspect in assassination attempt on Trump isn't Republican | Fact check
The claim: Ryan Routh, suspect in apparent assassination attempt, is a Republican
A Sept. 15 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows two photos of Ryan Routh, the suspect in what appears to be another assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
“TRUMP SHOOTER: Ryan Wesley Routh, who tried to assassinate Trump, is a Republican, gun enthusiast, and Covid conspiracy theorist, who supported Haley and was a ‘Never Trumper’ despite voting for Trump,” reads the post's caption.
The post was shared more than 200 times in two days.
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Our rating: False
Public records in North Carolina, where Routh is a longtime voter, show he has been registered as an unaffiliated voter for years but has most recently voted for and donated to the Democratic Party. An elections official confirmed that Routh was also registered as a Democrat at one point.
Routh has criminal past, voted Democrat in 2024
Routh, 58, was arrested on Sept. 15 in connection with an incident at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. Authorities said a man stuck a rifle barrel through a fence at the edge of the course while Trump was playing, before being spotted a few hundred yards away from Trump and fleeing the scene. Trump was unharmed.
But contrary to the Facebook post’s claim, Routh is not a registered Republican. Public voting records from Guilford County, North Carolina, show he registered to vote in 2012 as unaffiliated with any party.
Charlie Collicutt, elections director of Guilford County, told USA TODAY that Routh was formerly registered as a Democrat in 1988 but changed to unaffiliated in 2002.
“He’s been unaffiliated ever since,” Collicut said.
Collicutt said current records only show Routh's registration from 2012. His previous voting record was removed "due to a previous felony conviction," said Collicutt.
Routh has been convicted of numerous offenses including possessing a weapon of mass destruction, possessing stolen goods and hit and run, according to records from the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. The weapons charge is from a 2002 case in which he was caught in possession of a fully automatic machine gun.
Though Routh was registered as an unaffiliated voter, records indicate he most recently voted Democrat. In March 2024, he voted on the Democratic ballot in North Carolina's primary election. Collicutt confirmed that although Routh is unaffiliated, he was able to vote for the party under North Carolina State Board of Elections guidelines.
"Unaffiliated voters may choose any one political party’s ballot or a nonpartisan ballot (if available) in a primary election," the rules state.
Routh has also lived in Hawaii, where he made more than a dozen small donations to the Democratic political action committee ActBlue between September 2019 and March 2020, Federal Election Commission records show.
Fact check: Supposed Trump post that his would-be assassins are '0-2' is fabricated
Despite his recent support of Democrats, he may have once voted for Trump. On June 10, 2020, he posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he had made Trump his candidate of choice in the 2016 presidential election.
"While you were my choice in 2106 (sic), I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment (sic) and it seems you are getting worse and devolving,” he wrote.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources:
Charlie Collicutt, Sept. 16, Email exchange with USA TODAY
North Carolina State Board of Elections, accessed Sept. 16, Voter search
North Carolina State Board of Elections, accessed Sept. 16, Choosing Your Party Affiliation
Federal Election Commission, accessed Sept. 16, Individual contributions for Ryan Routh
@RyanRouth, June 10, 2020, X post (archived)
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ryan Wesley Routh is not a registered Republican voter | Fact check