Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspected gunman involved in an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Club in Florida on Sunday, was charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction more than 20 years ago.
“I thought he was already dead or in prison,” Tracy Fulk, the prosecuting officer in the case, told WIRED. “I had no idea he had moved on and continued his escapades.”
According to court records from the Guilford District Court in North Carolina obtained by WIRED, Routh was arrested by the Greensboro Police Department on December 16, 2002.
Local reports of Greensboro News and Records In 2002, police pulled Routh over during a traffic stop. Routh then drove to United Roofing, where he barricaded himself in for three hours, police said at the time.
Fulk says he was well known in the area and that police received alerts about him, allegedly involving, as he recalls, weapons and explosives.
“One night I recognized him in his vehicle,” she says. “I knew he didn’t have a driver’s license, so I stopped him right in front of his roofing shop, which was what used to be on Lee Street in Greensboro. He pulled over, and as I walked up to his truck, he pulled a bag out of the center of the seat and I saw a gun. So of course I pulled my gun out and started telling him, ‘Hey! Show me your hands, show me your hands. ’ And he basically pulled into his driveway and ran toward his house. So we ended up having a (Special Response Team) call and a big standoff for a couple of hours before they came in and we arrested him.”
Routh was charged with possession of a fully automatic machine gun, which is referred to in court documents 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.
While the disposition of the case is not entirely clear, Routh pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon.
Trump was not injured Sunday while golfing. Law enforcement detained Routh after a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle protruding from a perimeter fence at the course and confronted the threat, firing at least four shots in that direction. It’s unclear whether the gunman fired any shots. Law enforcement later found an AK-47-style rifle with a scope and a GoPro in bushes.
