KAAAWA, Hawaii: Ryan Wesley Routh portrayed himself online as a man who built housing for homeless people in Hawaii, tried to recruit fighters for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia, and described his support and then disdain for Donald Trump — even urging Iran to kill him.
“You are free to assassinate Trump,” Routh wrote of Iran in an apparently self-published book in 2023, “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” which described the former president as a “fool” and “buffoon” for both the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and the “tremendous blunder” of leaving the Iran nuclear deal.
Routh wrote that he once voted for Trump and must take part of the blame for the “child that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless.”
Routh, 58, was arrested Sunday and charged Monday after authorities say he stalked the GOP presidential nominee as he golfed in West Palm Beach, Florida, with an AK-47-style rifle in an apparent assassination attempt thwarted by the Secret Service.
Through his voluminous online footprint, public records, news interviews and videos, a picture emerged of Routh as a man with a criminal past, plenty of outrage and views ranging from the left to the right, including support for Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard, Nikki Haley and Trump.
Voter records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in person during the state’s Democratic primary in March.
Routh also made 19 small donations totaling $140 since 2019 through ActBlue, a political action committee that distributes donations to Democratic candidates, according to federal campaign finance records.
In a tweet in June 2020, after the police killing of George Floyd, Routh said then-President Trump could win reelection by issuing an executive order to prosecute police misconduct. However, in recent years, his posts appear to have soured on Trump, and he expressed support for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
“DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose,” he wrote on X in April in support of Biden.
In July, following the assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, a post on Routh’s account urged Biden and Harris to visit those wounded in the shooting and attend the funeral of the firefighter who was killed.
“Trump will never do anything for them,” Routh wrote.
In his book, listed on Amazon and viewed by the AP, Routh noted: “I get so tired of people asking me if I am a Democrat or Republican as I refuse to be put in a category.”
The world would be better if it were run by women, he wrote in the book that has links to his website and X account, because “it seems that the totality of the world’s problems revolve around men with massive insecurity and childlike intelligence and behavior.”
He posted frequently on social media about Ukraine and other conflicts, and had a website seeking to raise money and recruit volunteers to fight for Kyiv. A photo of the wiry, wild-haired Routh on his site shows him smiling, wearing a T-shirt and jacket adorned with US flags.
“This is about good versus evil,” Routh said in a video circulating online. And in a tweet, he said, “I am going to fight and die for Ukraine.”
Video shot by the AP showed Routh at a small demonstration in Kyiv’s Independence Square in April 2022, two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of the country.
A placard he was holding said: “We cannot tolerate corruption and evil for another 50+ years. End Russia for our kids.”
That same day, he also visited a makeshift memorial to “Foreigners killed by Putin.”
But Routh never served in the Ukrainian army or worked with its military, said Oleksandr Shahuri of the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command.
Shahuri told AP that Routh periodically contacted the International Legion of Ukraine with what he described as “nonsensical ideas” that “can best be described as delusional.”
Routh appeared in a video standing in front of the US Capitol and expressing frustration that Ukraine wasn’t taking more of the Afghan commandos he tried to recruit.
“They’re afraid that anybody and everybody is a Russian spy,” he told news website Semafor in 2023.
Earlier this year, he even tweeted at singers Bruno Mars and Dave Matthews to organize a “We are the World”-style effort for Kyiv. “We need an emotional tribute song for Ukraine as support stalls,” he wrote. “I have lyrics and music.”
Routh also tweeted to former basketball star Dennis Rodman, asking for help lifting sanctions against North Korea to ease tension with the country. In another, he invites a dozen protesters in Hong Kong to stay at his Hawaii home to escape a Chinese crackdown.
Routh lived most of his life in Greensboro, North Carolina, where his run-ins with law enforcement included a 2002 felony conviction for possessing explosives, detonation cord and a blasting cap, according to court records.
The News & Record of Greensboro reported that the arrest came after Routh fled from a traffic stop and held off police for three hours with “a fully automatic machine gun” at a roofing business. State records listed him as the business owner.
Court records show authorities seized the explosives and an undefined number of firearms from Routh. As part of a plea deal, Routh agreed to undergo a mental health evaluation and comply with any treatment recommendations. The documents provided to the AP by the county clerk of court on Monday do not include the results of that evaluation.
Records also show Routh was convicted of a felony count of possession of stolen goods in 2010, as well as misdemeanors including illegally carrying a concealed weapon, a hit-and-run, speeding and driving with a revoked license.
Court records from the 2010 felony case say detectives determined Routh was storing stolen building supplies and other items at his roofing business warehouse, where he was living at the time. Money from the sale of the stolen goods was used to purchase crack cocaine, according to a police affidavit used to get a search warrant.
In both the felony cases, court records show judges sentenced Routh to either probation or a suspended sentence, allowing him to escape prison time.
It was not immediately clear how Routh was able to obtain a weapon. In most states, it is generally forbidden for a person convicted of a felony to purchase or possess a firearm.
In 2018, Routh moved to the small town of Kaaawa, Hawaii, about 45 minutes outside Honolulu, to go in business with his adult son building small wooden sheds. According to his LinkedIn page, the structures would “help address the highest homelessness rate in the United States due to unparalleled gentrification.”
“All of us are tired of seeing the homeless people all over the island with nowhere to go,” he told Honolulu’s Star-Advertiser in 2019.
No one answered the door Sunday at his blue stucco house near the beach that is colorfully painted with wooden cutouts of fish. A white pickup truck with a Biden-Harris bumper sticker and a flat tire was in the driveway.
Neighbor Christopher Tam said Routh kept to himself and was respectful, cordial and kind.
“It’s just been very surprising,” Tam said. “If he did have anything to do with it, it’s very shocking to us.”
Man who appeared intent on killing Trump wrote a book urging Iran to assassinate the ex-president
https://arab.news/ysmgc
Man who appeared intent on killing Trump wrote a book urging Iran to assassinate the ex-president
Israel’s defense minister cancels visit to Washington, Pentagon says
- Biden said on Friday he thought Israel had not yet concluded how to respond to Iran and added that he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields if he were in Israel’s shoes
WASHINGTON: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has canceled a Wednesday visit to the Pentagon, the Pentagon said, as Israeli media reported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted first to speak with US President Joe Biden.
The surprise cancelation on Tuesday comes amid soaring tensions between Israel and Iran as Israel weighs options to respond to Tehran’s missile attack last week, its second this year against Israel.
The Pentagon declined to say why Gallant canceled his visit, and referred reporters to Israel’s ministry of defense. Offices for Netanyahu and Gallant did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “We were just informed that Minister Gallant will be postponing his trip to Washington,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told a news briefing. Israel’s Ynet news outlet reported that Gallant had hoped his US visit would strengthen coordination on Iran but hours before departure, Netanyahu set two preconditions: the call with Biden and cabinet approval of the response to Iran.
The White House referred questions about the Gallant visit to the Israeli government. Biden and his aides have spoken of a possible call with Netanyahu since the end of September. But the White House did not immediately respond to a query on whether such a call had now been scheduled.
Biden said on Friday he thought Israel had not yet concluded how to respond to Iran and added that he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields if he were in Israel’s shoes.
Iran on Tuesday warned Israel not to follow through on threats of retaliation.
Its foreign minister said any attack on Iran’s infrastructure would be avenged while a senior Iranian official told Gulf states it would be “unacceptable” and would draw a response if they allowed their airspace to be used against Iran.
Western powers are seeking a diplomatic solution, fearing the conflict could roil the wider, oil-producing Middle East.
Milton returns to Category 5 as Florida braces for next hurricane
TAMPA: Storm-battered Florida braced for a direct hit from Hurricane Milton which restrengthened to a Category 5 storm Tuesday, as President Joe Biden begged residents to flee what he warned could be the worst natural disaster to hit the US state in a century.
As the second huge hurricane in as many weeks rumbled toward Florida’s west coast, a sense of looming catastrophe spread as people raced to board up homes and flee.
“It’s a matter of life and death, and that’s not hyperbole,” Biden said from the White House, urging those under orders to leave to “evacuate now, now, now.”
Biden’s warning came amid a bitter pre-election quarrel, with his Democratic vice president Kamala Harris castigating her rival Donald Trump for peddling false claims that recovery efforts after the first storm, Hurricane Helene, were diverted away from Republicans.
As of Tuesday, Milton restrengthened to the maximum Category 5 designation, generating maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (270 kph), the National Hurricane Center said.
“Fluctuations in intensity are likely while Milton moves across the eastern Gulf of Mexico, but Milton is expected to be a dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida Wednesday night,” the NHC said.
Governor Ron DeSantis, at a news conference, ticked off town after town and county after county that are in danger.
“Basically the entire peninsula portion of Florida is under some type of either a watch or a warning,” he said.
Airlines put on extra flights out of Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers and Sarasota, as highways clogged up with escaping traffic and gas stations sold out of fuel.
Hurricane expert Michael Lowry warned that in the Tampa area, home to some three million people, Milton’s storm surge “could double the storm surge levels observed two weeks ago during Helene,” which brought massive flooding.
Biden postponed a major trip to Germany and Angola to oversee the federal response, as storm relief efforts have emerged as a political battleground ahead of the presidential election on November 5.
Trump has tapped into frustration about the emergency response after Hurricane Helene and fueled it with disinformation, falsely claiming that disaster money had been spent instead on migrants.
Biden on Tuesday slammed Trump’s comments as “un-American,” while presidential hopeful Harris called the claims the “height of irresponsibility and frankly callousness.”
“I fear that he really lacks empathy on a very basic level,” she said.
In a scene of frantic preparation repeated all over Florida, dozens of cars lined up at a sports facility in Tampa to pick up sandbags to protect their homes from flooding.
John Gomez, 75, ignored official advice and traveled all the way from Chicago to try to save a second house he has in Florida.
“I think it’s better to be here in case something happens,” Gomez said as he waited in line.
Scientists say global warming has a role in intense storms as warmer ocean surfaces release more water vapor, providing additional energy for storms, which exacerbates their winds.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday released footage from a specialist plane called “Miss Piggy” as it flew into the hurricane to collect data.
Paperwork, equipment and personal items were sent flying as the plane was shaken by wind and rain.
On the ground, communities hit by the deadly Hurricane Helene, which slammed Florida late last month, have rushed to remove debris that could become dangerous projectiles as Milton approaches.
In Mexico’s Yucatan, strong winds toppled trees and pylons, and heavy rain caused flooding, but the peninsula avoided major damage or casualties as the storm barreled offshore.
Across the southeastern United States, emergency workers are still struggling to provide relief after Helene, which killed at least 230 people across several states.
It hit the Florida coastline on September 26 as a major Category 4 hurricane, causing massive flooding in remote inland towns in states further north, including North Carolina and Tennessee.
Helene was the deadliest natural disaster to hit the US mainland since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, with the death toll still rising.
Harris holds slight edge nationally over Trump: poll
- The national poll conducted by Siena College and The New York Times found Harris ahead by 49 percent to 46 percent
NEW YORK: Kamala Harris has taken a slim lead over Donald Trump in the US presidential race, a new poll showed Tuesday, as the Democrat slammed her rival for “weakness” during a media blitz four weeks before the election.
Vice President Harris and Republican former president Trump — who was doing a three-hit airwaves blitz of his own Tuesday — are deadlocked as they scramble to get out the vote and reach the sliver of Americans who remain undecided.
The national poll conducted by Siena College and The New York Times found Harris ahead by 49 percent to 46 percent, with registered voters crediting her more than Trump with representing change and caring about people like themselves, but giving the edge to Trump on who is the stronger leader.
The rivals were tied at 47 percent in a mid-September Times/Siena poll shortly after the two clashed in their presidential debate.
The overall result is largely in line with an aggregate of national polling collated by RealClearPolitics.com, which has Harris ahead by two percentage points.
In the seven battleground states seen as likely to determine the election outcome, the race is even tighter.
With Trump critics warning the election is nothing less than a referendum on American democracy, Harris conceded the knife-edge race is keeping her up at night.
“I literally lose sleep — and have been — over what is at stake in this election,” she told radio icon Howard Stern in a 70-minute live interview Tuesday.
“This is an election that is about strength versus weakness, and weakness as projected by someone who puts himself in front of the American people and does not have the strength to stand in defense of their needs, their dreams, their desires.”
Harris, the new poll showed, has begun making inroads with the rival party, with nine percent of Republicans saying they planned to support her, up from five percent last month.
She touched on the issue during a Tuesday appearance on popular ABC television show “The View,” where she talked about campaigning recently with Republican former congresswoman Liz Cheney.
There are more than 200 former officials from past Republican presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush, as well as officials tied to Republican heavyweights John McCain and Mitt Romney, who have endorsed her, Harris said.
“We really are building a coalition around some very fundamental issues, including that we love our country and that we have to put country before party,” she said.
The Democrat, who turns 60 next week, also accused Trump of “full-time perpetuating lies and misinformation,” and said voters have grown “exhausted” with the strategy.
Trump meanwhile maintained his aggressive posture, attacking Harris as a “very low intelligence person” and claiming she has been “missing in action” over the federal response to Hurricane Helene — even though Harris traveled to the disaster zone last week.
And the 78-year-old Republican insisted on conservative influencer Ben Shapiro’s podcast that he has the stamina to finish strong on the campaign trail.
“I’ve worked about 28 days in a row, I have about 29 days left” before the election, he said, “and I’m not taking any days off.”
In addition to the poll, Harris got another potential boost Tuesday after a pro-Palestinian group threatening to draw votes from her in swing state Michigan came out strongly against Trump.
The Uncommitted movement stopped short of explicitly endorsing Harris, but warned in a video that “it can get worse” under Trump.
Major US pro-Palestinian group comes out against Trump
- Israel’s military offensive has killed at least 41,965 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians
WASHINGTON: Democrat Kamala Harris got a potential boost Tuesday after a pro-Palestinian group threatening to draw votes from her in swing state Michigan came out strongly against her Republican opponent Donald Trump.
The Uncommitted movement stopped short of explicitly endorsing Harris, but warned in a video on social media that “it can get worse” under Trump. One of the group’s co-founders, Lexi Zeidan, said voters should consider “the better antiwar approach” rather than “who is the better candidate.”
The Harris campaign is worried about losing votes in places like Michigan, where anger among the state’s large Arab American community over the White House’s support for Israeli operations in Gaza and Lebanon has threatened to narrow already thin margins for Democrats.
The Uncommitted shift to openly opposing Trump, who is close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will come as some relief to Harris, the vice president.
However, Abandon Harris, another group of anti-war voters, has endorsed fringe Green Party candidate Jill Stein, potentially turning her into a spoiler that would help elect Trump in swing states decided by just a few thousand votes.
Both groups, drawing heavily from Arab, Palestinian and Muslim voters, emerged in protest at President Joe Biden’s backing of Israel despite mounting civilian casualties in Gaza.
Harris has attempted to walk a tightrope on the issue, saying at the Democratic presidential nomination she would get a Gaza ceasefire “done” and ensure Palestinians realize their right to “dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”
But Harris has rejected protesters’ demands, such as an arms embargo on Israel — a longtime key US ally.
Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures, which include hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed 41,965 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the United Nations has described as reliable.
Pro-Palestinian activists target UK offices of Germany’s Allianz
LONDON: Pro-Palestinian activists targeted the British offices of German financial services firm Allianz on Tuesday, daubing the outside with red paint in protest over the company’s links to Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems.
Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the protest on social media platform X, and said demonstrators had attacked 10 Allianz offices in the UK and “occupied” the insurer’s UK headquarters in Guildford, south of London, overnight.
“Without insurance, Elbit couldn’t operate in Britain,” Palestine Action said in its post.
In addition to urging customers to boycott certain financial firms, demonstrators have expanded protests to include defacing buildings using red paint to symbolize the bloodshed in Gaza.
Allianz is the latest global financial company to have suffered such vandalism. British lender Barclays has also been a target for pro-Palestinian protesters.