The man arrested on suspicion of possibly trying to assassinate former president Donald Trump spent his recent years in search of a mission — trying to muster a ragtag army to defend Ukraine and writing a book about his failed efforts, according to law enforcement officials and his online data trail.
Public records also show that Routh, originally from North Carolina, faced criminal charges for two separate incidents in 2002 for possession of a weapon of mass destruction.
He pleaded guilty to the first charge in April 2002, a court docket filing shows, though no other details were publicly available.
He also was charged in December of that year, when, according to an account from the News & Record newspaper, Routh, armed with a machine gun, barricaded himself in a United Roofing building in Greensboro for three hours. Authorities say the incident began after he was pulled over for a traffic stop. Police ultimately arrested him without incident.
In that second case, he pleaded guilty to driving without a license and registration, resisting a public officer and carrying a concealed firearm, while the weapon of mass destruction charge was dropped, public records show.
Public records also show that Routh, originally from North Carolina, faced criminal charges for two separate incidents in 2002 for possession of a weapon of mass destruction.
He pleaded guilty to the first charge in April 2002, a court docket filing shows, though no other details were publicly available.
He also was charged in December of that year, when, according to an account from the News & Record newspaper, Routh, armed with a machine gun, barricaded himself in a United Roofing building in Greensboro for three hours. Authorities say the incident began after he was pulled over for a traffic stop. Police ultimately arrested him without incident.
In that second case, he pleaded guilty to driving without a license and registration, resisting a public officer and carrying a concealed firearm, while the weapon of mass destruction charge was dropped, public records show.
