Quick Hit:

A disturbing revelation has emerged from federal court filings connecting a plot to assassinate President Donald Trump with an attempt to procure military-grade weapons from Ukraine. The accused, 59-year-old Ryan Routh, allegedly sought to shoot down Trump's private jet using a missile sourced from a contact he believed to be in the war-torn country. Washington Examiner’s Byron York highlights the deeply troubling and underreported details of the case in a new op-ed that raises more questions than answers about national security and political violence.

Key Details:

• Ryan Routh allegedly contacted someone he believed to be Ukrainian to acquire a shoulder-fired missile to take down Trump’s 757 jet.

• He explicitly stated his motive: “I need equipment so that Trump cannot get elected.”

• Court documents reveal Routh had 17 phones, multiple computers, and had previously traveled to Ukraine to aid in the war.\

Diving Deeper:

In a compelling April 8 piece for the Washington Examiner, Byron York sheds light on a chilling plot that has remained surprisingly under the radar. York opens by pointing out the glaring lack of public information surrounding two 2024 assassination attempts against President Donald Trump, including the lesser-known September 15 incident involving Routh. While most of the public’s attention was understandably on the July 13 shooting at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally, York notes that "we don’t know much about Thomas Crooks... nor do we know much about Ryan Routh."

What we do know now is harrowing. According to prosecutors, in August 2024, Routh used the encrypted app Signal to connect with an individual he believed had access to military weapons in Ukraine. The conversation was no idle fantasy. As York reports, “Routh asked the associate to send him a rocket-propelled grenade or a Stinger anti-aircraft missile.” Routh even explained his motives explicitly, saying, “I need equipment so that Trump cannot get elected.”

To emphasize his deadly intent, Routh sent a photograph of Trump's jet and wrote, “Trump’s plane, he gets on and off daily.” Referring to the earlier Butler shooting, he chillingly added, “I wish.”

Routh’s obsession with Ukraine wasn’t sudden or abstract. York reports that after Russia invaded Ukraine, Routh wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “I AM WILLING TO FLY TO KRAKOW AND GO TO THE BORDER OF UKRAINE TO VOLUNTEER AND FIGHT AND DIE.” He traveled to Kyiv in 2022, attempting to join foreign fighters, but was dismissed by Ukraine’s International Legion as having “nonsensical” and “delusional” ideas. Still, his infatuation continued. In 2023, Routh even tried to recruit Afghan refugees to fight for Ukraine, a plan York writes included illegal transportation from Iran and Pakistan—again, it failed to materialize.

Faced with the reality that he couldn't procure a missile, Routh allegedly sought alternative weapons. “Around the same time he was trying to get his hands on rocket and missile launchers from Ukraine,” York writes, “Routh explored another means of killing President Trump by researching and attempting to purchase a .50 caliber sniper rifle.” This would have been an even more destructive option than the military-grade SKS rifle he already possessed.

President Trump has expressed alarm over the details of the case. “That’s a lot of cellphones, and a couple of them had some strange markings on them,” Trump said at the White House. “So yes, I want to find out.”

Despite the gravity of this assassination plot—complete with foreign weapons, a motive tied directly to Trump’s election prospects, and ties to an active war zone—the story has received minimal media scrutiny. York’s reporting underscores the need for answers, accountability, and vigilance.

“There is much more to learn about the case,” York concludes—a sobering reminder that this disturbing chapter in American political violence is far from closed.