Trump Would-Be Assassination Suspect Convicted for Possessing ‘Weapon of Mass Destruction’ Year After 9/11

Trump assassination suspect Ryan Wesley Routh was convicted for possession of a “weapon of mass destruction” the year after 9/11.

The UK Independent noted, “Routh has a criminal record dating back to at least 2002, when he was convicted in Guilford County, North Carolina, on one felony count of possession of a weapon of mass destruction.”

Breitbart News pointed out the felony stems from an incident in which Routh allegedly barricaded himself and had a standoff with police in 2002. The Greensboro News & Record noted that once the standoff ended, Routh was arrested and “charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon of mass destruction, referring to a fully automatic machine gun.”

Routh was allegedly in the bushes at the Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing Sunday and was armed with what Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw described as an AK-style rifle. (However, USA Today described the gun as an SKS-style rifle.) A Secret Service agent spotted the gun barrel allegedly belonging to Routh sticking out of the bushes around 1:30 p.m. and began shooting at him, at which time Routh allegedly fled, only to be apprehended shortly thereafter.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly: awrhawkins@breitbart.com.