The son of Ryan Wesley Routh, the man named as the suspect in a possible assassination attempt near Donald Trump’s Florida golf club on Sunday, has said his father is not a violent person and did not even believe him to own a gun.
Routh’s son, Oran Routh, reached by DailyMail.com shortly after Sunday’s shooting, said this was the first he’d heard of the alleged assassination attempt.
‘This was the first I heard about it,’ the 35-year-old exclusively told DailyMail.com. ‘Was my father shot or injured?’
He said his father hates Trump as ‘every reasonable person does.
‘I don’t like Trump either,’ the son added.
But he said his dad is not a violent person and couldn’t believe his father would target the president.
‘He’s my dad and all he’s had is couple traffic tickets, as far as I know,’ the son said. ‘That’s crazy. I know my dad and love my dad, but that’s nothing like him.’
The former president was rushed to safety on Sunday after multiple shots were fired in his vicinity while he was playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach.
Routh said his father, who had no military experience, said he had traveled to Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion to help volunteer and provide aid to those affected.
Routh moved to Hawaii a few years back and was living with his longtime girlfriend. He said he didn’t know his father was even in Florida.
‘He said he was at the beach, but I thought that meant the outer banks in Hawaii,’ he said. ‘I didn’t ask him for more information because we’ve had a falling out. We’ve grown apart.’
He wouldn’t explain the nature of their ‘falling out,’ but still spoke highly of his father.
‘He’s not a violent person,’ he said. ‘He’s a hard worker and a great dad. He’s a great dude, a nice guy and has worked his whole f**king life.’
Asked whether his father owned a gun, he replied, ‘Not that I know of.
‘I’ve never known him to own a gun or known him to do anything bats*** like this,’ the son added.
He said his father works as a general contractor, building small homes in Hawaii, and previously owned a roofing company.
He abruptly ended the call, saying he needed to inquire about what actually happened.
Later in a rambling text, Routh appeared to justify his father’s actions.
‘I hate this game every four years, and think that we all do, and if my father wants to be a martyr to how broken and disassociated the process has become from the real problems and practical solutions, then that’s his choice.
‘I’m not saying that’s what he’s done or what he’s about, that’s just my own rant being fed up with it all for my entire adult life,’ he wrote.
‘South Park said it best, every 4 years we’re forced to choose between a turd sandwich and a giant douche, and it all stays f****d in the same ways by different degrees, and we’re exhausted and embarrassed by it all.’
The suspect ran from the trees, but was spotted by a witness who snapped a picture of his vehicle – a black Nissan – which included the license plate before he drove away.
Trump confirmed in a statement about an hour after the shots were reported that he is ‘safe and well’ and didn’t want rumors to ‘start spiraling out of control.’
The suspect was able to get within 400-500 yards of Trump.
The 2024 Republican nominee’s bulked up Secret Service advance team spotted the shooter in the tree line just two holes from where Trump was golfing.
Special Agent Rafael Barros explained at the press conference on Sunday that Secret Service moves along with Trump and usually surveying one or two holes ahead of him when he goes for a round of golf.
The FBI released a statement two hours after the incident claiming the attack ‘appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.’
The armed suspect was posted up outside the club around the 5th and 6th hole, which is confirmed to be a more ‘vulnerable’ area of the course because it is closest to the road.
The area where the suspect was first spotted by his security detail was two holes ahead of where Trump was golfing at the time of gunshots, causing the individual to flee.
The incident comes as Trump’s security detail has been ramped up in the two months since the former president was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.
Trump’s golf club is just five miles from his residence at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach and is where the former president is often spotted golfing when he is not on the campaign trail.
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Department held a press conference Sunday afternoon to provide updates on the shooting and revealed images of the suspect’s backpack, GoPro camera and AK-47 rifle left at the scene.