Would-be Trump shooter waited near golf course for nearly 12 hours, officials say

Officials on Monday identified Hawaii resident Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, as the suspected would-be shooter in the second attempted assassination of the former president in a matter of weeks.  During a Monday news conference, law enforcement officials said Routh camped outside former President Donald Trump's Florida golf course with food and an AK-style rifle for nearly 12 hours before he was spotted by a U.S. Secret Service agent. Routh did not get off any shots, officials said, and never had Trump in his line of sight. The former president was unharmed.

Routh appeared in federal court Monday morning on federal firearms charges. He did not enter a plea.

Routh is believed to be from North Carolina where he was charged in 2002 with possessing a fully automatic machine gun, according to a report by WIRED. The New York Times last year interviewed Routh about his attempts to help Ukraine as a volunteer soldier. A representative for the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command told the Associated Press that Routh has never served in the Ukrainian army or collaborated with the military.

Dig deeper: Read Travis Kircher’s initial report about the attempt.