Trump assassination suspect planned to recruit Afghan soldiers | World news

“We can probably buy some passports through Pakistan because it is such a corrupt country,” he was quoted as saying by the New York Times.

In his public statements, he displayed pro-Ukrainian views, which is why he was interviewed by several news organizations in 2023, including the New York Times and Semafor.

Routh is an independent affordable housing developer in Hawaii who has at times criticized the former president.

This was the second assassination attempt on Trump within two months. In July, a life-threatening attack on the 78-year-old Trump during his campaign rally in Pennsylvania shocked the entire nation. Trump injured his right ear after the young gunman fired several shots at him during the campaign rally.

During Sunday's attack, Trump was on the golf course just a few hundred yards away when Secret Service agents spotted Routh hiding in the bushes and opened fire, law enforcement officials were quoted as saying by the New York Times.

He fled the scene in a vehicle and was arrested during a traffic stop. A rifle with a telescopic sight, a camera and two backpacks were found in the bushes, the report continued.

Routh, who authorities suspect attempted to attack the former president during a round of golf, posted comments on an associated X-account referencing the July assassination attempt on Trump, CNN reported.

In separate posts, Routh tagged President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and urged them to visit those injured at the rally.

She and Biden should visit those injured at the Trump rally in the hospital and attend the funeral of the murdered firefighter. Trump will never do anything for them, he wrote in a post addressed to Harris.

Routh, who has a long criminal record in North Carolina, frequently posted political topics and has donated exclusively to Democratic candidates and causes since 2019, the New York Post reported.

In a post on X on April 22, he also attacked Trump, declaring: “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot, and we cannot lose.”

In an X-post dated April 22, when 81-year-old Biden was still in the race for re-election, he advised him to protect America's democracy and freedom during the campaign.

He claimed that Trump wanted to make Americans slaves to their masters.

Meanwhile, Oran Routh, the son of the man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump, said his father traveled to Ukraine and volunteered to provide humanitarian aid to troops defending the country against Russian forces set to invade in 2022, The Guardian reported.

Oran said his father was passionate about Ukraine's cause.

First published: September 16, 2024 | 1:08 p.m. IS