The suspect in custody after an apparent second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Sunday is prompting a flood of comparisons to Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin who killed President John F. Kennedy
Ryan Routh allegedly brought an AK-style rifle to Florida, hoping to assassinate Trump as he was playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach.
Trump was unharmed.
Routh’s arrest immediately drew accusations of foul play, with some suspecting an inside job of some sort due to his past posts on social media.
Ex-National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden was among those deeming the assassination attempt to have Oswald vibes, a reference to the longstanding belief Kennedy’s assassin didn’t act alone.
Snowden included screenshots of Routh’s pro-Ukraine social media posts, including an image of himself in Washington and in Kyiv.
“We know little so far, but [with] alleged Trump shooter’s personal and public participation in military activity in Ukraine, it is hard to imagine this White House’s agencies can claim zero contact—’clean hands,’” Snowden wrote on X. “Something of an Oswald vibe, here. Congress should get answers.”
Snowden added in another post: “I’m not saying this guy was some pro on somebody’s payroll, obviously—in my opinion, the guy just looks deranged. But that doesn’t mean the government didn’t have a hand in encouraging his past militancy, as we once did with Bin Laden. We had a word for it at the CIA: blowback.”
Echoed someone else: “I know that few of you believe the official JFK assassination narrative, but that Ryan Routh dude has lots of Lee Harvey Oswald vibes attached to him.”
In a 14-part thread, another account drew the same conclusion, noting that Routh had been interviewed by both Newsweek and New York Times about him volunteering in Ukraine.
He had made multiple posts stating his willingness to die for Ukraine and encouraging other non-Ukrainians to join the fight against Russia.
Those weren’t the only ones making the comparison.
Oswald infamously defected to Russia before repatriating, and often drew similar attention to himself, which some speculate was a plot to get his name in the public consciousness.
“Ryan Wesley Routh also had a mutual following with this account,” the account also alleged, along with a screenshot of a profile of an ex-CIA analyst. “Some have pointed to this individual as a potential ‘handler’ or contact.”
“The three letter agencies are behind this plot,” concluded one account, although it’s unclear if the account followed him back.
One right-wing influencer called for Congress to pressure the Federal Bureau of Investigation for answers about the suspect, asking, “who was funding Ryan Routh?”
“He has enough $ to drop his life and go to Ukraine for over 6 months,” he said. “Where was the $$ coming from? How did he pay for his AK47 and where did he get it? Who did he meet with in DC? Republican electeds better start putting pressure on FBI for answers.”
“Trump needs to hire his own investigative team,” replied an account. “The FBI can NOT be trusted.”
“Ryan Routh is a total NATO/CIA asset and was told where to be today to kill Trump,” claimed Alex Jones.
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