American media outlets have already released the name of the suspect arrested for attempting to assassinate Donald Trump near his Mar-a-Lago golf course in Florida. Citing government sources, CBS News, the US partner of BBC, also reported that the name of the suspected gunman is Ryan Wesley Roth.
Who exactly is this Ryan Wesley Roth, what does he do, does he have a history of criminal involvement? Several such questions are now circulating.
BBC’s fact-checking team, BBC Verify, has tried to find out detailed information about Ryan Wesley Roth. They have found profiles with that name on various social media platforms. Examining these, it appears that the person named Ryan is in his late 50s. BBC Verify also indicated that Ryan had called for foreign fighters to go to Ukraine to fight against Russian forces.
Ryan has no experience working in the military. In an interview with The New York Times in 2023, he said he went to Ukraine right after Russia invaded in 2022. His goal was to find Afghan fighters who had fled their country after the Taliban took power and use them in the Ukraine war.
Last July, Ryan wrote on the social media platform Facebook:
“Soldiers, please don’t call me. We are still trying to get Ukraine to accept Afghan fighters. We hope we will surely get some answer to this in the coming months. Please be patient.”
Previous reports have shown that Ryan has a history of criminal involvement. According to CBS sources, he had been charged and convicted of numerous serious crimes, including carrying concealed weapons.
A report in the Hindustan Times says that on his LinkedIn profile, Ryan describes himself as a person very interested in creative projects and mechanical work. He was born in Hawaii, USA. He runs a shed-building company called Camp Box Honolulu. Ryan studied at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
Ryan was arrested with a weapon after a shooting incident near Donald Trump’s owned golf course in Palm Beach area of Florida. Trump was at the course at the time of the incident on Sunday.
According to the US Federal Election Commission (FEC), Ryan has made 19 donations to the Democratic Party since 2019. His total donations amounted to $140.
Ryan had also donated to former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard for the US House of Representatives. Gabbard, a former Democrat, is now a Trump supporter.
Trump is the Republican Party candidate for the upcoming US presidential election in November. After Sunday’s shooting incident, his campaign announced that shots were fired near where Trump was staying. He is safe. Nothing more can be said at this time.
Previously, on July 13, Trump was shot at while giving a speech at an election rally in Pennsylvania. He narrowly escaped with his life at that time. Trump was wounded in the ear by the bullet. After that incident, there was major criticism about the competence of the Secret Service. As a result, the head of the force had to resign. At least five members were also placed on administrative leave.
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