Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, had a long history of confrontations with law enforcement, engaging in what one expert described as a “cat-and-mouse game.” Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Scott Duffey told Fox News Digital that Routh “seems like someone who is constantly trying to poke somebody and see what their response is going to be.”
Routh, 58, who was charged in Florida on two firearm-related offenses earlier this week, has been a frequent presence in the criminal justice system. According to court records, Routh has had over 100 encounters with the police since the 1980s, with prior charges ranging from writing bad checks to felony firearm possession, as well as possessing a weapon of mass destruction in 2002. Specifically, he had a “binary explosive with a 10-inch detonation cord and a blasting cap.”
Speaking on Routh’s background, Duffey commented, “It’s not only a lengthy criminal arrest record, but for several decades. You have this escalation of violent acts, and then, of course, other contacts with police like driving without a license. Those are not violent acts, but they are constant contacts with police. That tells me that over the past few decades, whatever was going through his head, he wanted to be in contact with law enforcement.”
Routh’s consistent run-ins with law enforcement are further corroborated by Eric Rasecke, a retired officer from the Greensboro Police Department, where Routh previously lived. “Routh’s attitude was that he was above everybody. He could do what he wanted,” Rasecke said, adding, “He ran his mouth quite a bit about how he could get off… He knew everybody in Greensboro.”
