The man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump on a golf course paraded through the streets of Ukraine wearing a cape with the American flag on it and shouting “USA,” according to a volunteer.
Army veteran Terry Burton, 47, described Ryan Routh as a “mentally ill” Trump fanatic who portrayed himself as an American hero and believed he could save Ukraine with an army of Afghan ISIS fighters.
Burton met Routh in Kiev after traveling to the besieged country to offer his services. However, Routh, 58, was rejected as a volunteer due to his lack of military background.
Burton claims that Routh made a number of strange statements, including that he could count on the loyalty of “100,000 Afghan soldiers, Taliban soldiers and ISIS soldiers.”
A war veteran who claims to have met Donald Trump’s alleged killer, Ryan Routh (pictured), said he called himself an American hero in Ukraine
Routh has since been charged with weapons offenses in connection with the attempted assassination of Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday.
Burton, who is from Sandusky, Ohio, said he knew immediately that Routh was not what the Ukrainian forces were looking for.
“When I first met him, he was wearing an American flag as a cape,” he said News5 Cleveland. He was wearing a T-shirt with the American flag on it and baggy pants with the American flag on them.
“It was immediately apparent that he wasn’t exactly what they were looking for. He really wasn’t what a volunteer group was looking for.”
He added that Routh had expressed a desire to be among those who stormed the Capitol on January 6.
“Every conversation was about Donald Trump. Every conversation was about how angry he was that Biden won,” he said.
“He mentioned January 6th. He wished he had been a part of it. That was a new American Revolution.”
Terry Burton, 47, said Routh immediately appeared mentally unwell and out of place in Kiev, where he was rejected by the Ukrainian army for lacking military training
Routh was arrested Sunday for the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago
He claimed that Routh chanted “USA!” in the streets and felt that Ukrainians should thank him personally because America had helped Europe during World War II.
“His drawing attention to the American presence in this area was tactically unwise,” Burton said.
According to Burton, tensions at one point escalated into a physical fight, and he described Routh as a “pariah” to those trying to help Ukraine.
But he was still stunned when news of Routh’s arrest broke.
“It was kind of surreal,” Burton said. “It was like, wow. This mentally ill person that I was dealing with in Ukraine just tried to assassinate the former president.”
Routh was arrested after authorities spotted a gun sticking out of the brush at the golf course where Trump was playing.
He camped outside the golf course for nearly 12 hours with food and a rifle, waiting for the former president until a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire.
Routh did not fire, did not have Trump in his line of sight and quickly fled, leaving behind a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and a plastic bag of food, officials said.
What started as a routine round of golf for former President Donald Trump on Sunday turned into another dire situation, though officials said the suspect never managed to shoot him
In 2016, Routh voted for Trump. But in 2024, he supported Nikki Haley’s race for the Republican nomination after apparently growing disillusioned with the former president.
Public financial records also show that Routh donated small amounts to Democrats in 2020.
In 2023, Routh self-published the book “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” in which he called on Iran to assassinate the former president.
In his rambling prose, he also called the Republican candidate a “joker,” a “fool” and a “brainless.”
Routh’s attorney declined to comment after a brief appearance in federal court Monday, where a judge ordered him to remain in custody after prosecutors argued he was a flight risk.