Sheriff Snyder said that the suspect “was not armed when we took him out of the car.”
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(NewsNation) — A man who allegedly pointed an AK-47-style rifle through the fence at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach Sunday where the former president was golfing nearby has been taken into custody, authorities say.
The man, identified to NewsNation by a law enforcement source as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is described as a white male. He is believed to be the suspect who was crouched in bushes near the golf club perimeter, armed with an AK-47-style weapon equipped with a scope. Two backpacks and a Go-Pro camera were also found with the firearm near the perimeter from where the suspect had fled.
Routh was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, according to online North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records. The records do not provide details about the case.
Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg told NewsNation that the suspect was not previously on local law enforcement’s radar. Routh, who reportedly has ties to North Carolina and Hawaii, had made “bizarre” social media posts about Ukraine before the incident.
Federal authorities have taken over the case, with Aronberg’s office standing down. The state attorney anticipates Routh will face charges related to domestic terrorism and weapons offenses, though specific charges have not been announced.
At approximately 1:30 p.m. local time, authorities received a call reporting shots fired at the golf course where Trump was playing a round of golf.
A witness told police the suspect fled the scene in a black Nissan and provided investigators with photos of the suspect’s license plate. Using that photo, authorities say they put out a “a very urgent BOLO (Be On the Lookout) for the suspect’s vehicle and plates.
Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said his deputies “immediately flooded” northbound I-95, deploying to every exit between the Palm Beach County line to the south and St. Lucie County line to the north.
“One of my road patrol units saw the vehicle, matched the tag and we set up on the vehicle,” Snyder said, “We pinched in on the car, got it safely stopped and got the driver in custody.”
Snyder told WPTV that the suspect “was not armed when we took him out of the car.”
The man had a calm, flat demeanor and showed little emotion when he was stopped by police, Snyder said, saying the suspect did not question why he was being pulled over.
“He never asked, ‘What is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights, a lot going on. He never questioned it,” Snyder said.
The post by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office indicated the suspect was apprehended near Palm City, Florida, about a 45-mile drive north of Trump’s golf course. Northbound lanes of I-95 were shut down, the sheriff’s office said.
The former president said that he is safe and well.
Routh had criminal history in North Carolina
Routh previously lived in the Greensboro area before moving to Hawaii sometime this year. Neighbors say he and his family moved to Hawaii in May.
Voter records indicate that he was an unaffiliated voter but did vote in the Democratic primary in Guilford County.
Social media posts allegedly belonging to Routh indicate he was a believer in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, and he had posted that he had voted for Trump in 2016 but was disappointed with him after the fact, expressing support for Tulsi Gabbard in various posts.
The North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections has records for Routh going back to 2002. That year, he barricaded himself inside a business with a gun in Greensboro, per the News & Record.
In 2003, he was sentenced for driving without a license, carrying a concealed weapon and hit and run. In 2010 he was convicted of possessing stolen goods.
He was given probation for all of these charges, according to the DAC website.
North Carolina’s eCourts system has records going back to 1997 for charges such as no operator’s license.
Law enforcement has not released any more information in the case.
NewsNation affiliate WGHP and The Associated Press contributed to this report.