The man who allegedly tried to assassinate Donald Trump on a golf course paraded through the streets of Ukraine wearing a cape emblazoned with the American flag and shouting “USA,” according to a volunteer.
Army veteran Terry Burton, 47, described Ryan Routh as a “mentally ill” Trump fanatic who portrayed himself as an American hero and believed he could save Ukraine with an army of Afghan ISIS fighters.
Burton met Routh in kyiv after Routh had traveled to the besieged nation to offer his services. However, Routh, 58, was rejected as a volunteer due to his lack of military experience.
Burton says Routh made several outlandish statements, including that he had the loyalty of “100,000 Afghan soldiers, Taliban soldiers and ISIS soldiers” at his disposal.
An Army veteran who claims to have met Donald Trump’s alleged assassin Ryan Routh (pictured) said he presented himself as an American hero in Ukraine.
Routh has since been charged with weapons offenses in connection with the attempted assassination of Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday.
Burton, of Sandusky, Ohio, said he knew immediately that Routh was not what Ukrainian forces were looking for.
“When I first met him, he was wearing an American flag as a cape,” she said. News5 Cleveland. ‘He was wearing a T-shirt with the American flag on it and also baggy pants with the American flag on them.
“At first glance, it was clear that it wasn’t exactly what they were looking for. It wasn’t what any group of volunteers was looking for.”
He added that Routh had expressed a desire to be among those who stormed the Capitol on January 6.
“Every conversation was about Donald Trump. Every conversation was about how upset he was about Biden winning,” he said.
“He mentioned January 6th. He would have liked to have been a part of that. That was a new American revolution.”
Terry Burton, 47, said Routh immediately appeared to feel mentally unwell and out of place in kyiv, where he was rejected by the Ukrainian military because of his lack of military training.
Routh was arrested for the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday
He said Routh chanted “USA!” in the streets and believed Ukrainians should thank him personally because the United States helped Europe during World War II.
“The fact that he drew attention to the Americans who were in that area was not tactically sound,” Burton said.
Tensions escalated to a physical fight at one point, according to Burton, who described Routh as a “pariah” to those trying to help Ukraine.
But he was still stunned when news of Routh’s arrest broke.
“It was a little surreal,” Burton said. “It was like, wow! This mentally challenged individual I dealt with in Ukraine just tried to assassinate the former president.”
Routh was arrested after authorities spotted a gun sticking out of some bushes on the golf course where Trump was playing.
He camped outside the golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, waiting for the former president before a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire.
Routh did not fire any shots, never had Trump in his line of sight and sped away, leaving behind a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and a plastic bag containing food, the officials said.
What began as a normal round of golf for former President Donald Trump on Sunday turned into another close encounter with his life, though authorities said the suspect never managed to shoot him.
In 2016, Routh voted for Trump, but in 2024 he backed Nikki Haley for the Republican nomination, after apparently becoming disenchanted with the former president.
Public financial records also show Routh donated small amounts of money to Democrats in 2020.
In 2023, Routh self-published a book, ‘Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,’ in which he called on Iran to assassinate the former president.
In his rambling prose, he also called the Republican candidate a “buffoon,” a “fool” and “brainless.”
Routh’s attorney declined to comment after he appeared briefly in federal court on Monday, where a judge ordered him locked up after prosecutors argued he was a flight risk.
