Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspected gunman behind the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, was previously charged in 2002 for possessing a weapon of mass destruction.
Roth is a construction worker and a registered Democrat.
This is according to North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records, which show that despite the severity of his crime, Routh received a mere slap on the wrist — probation.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, “A weapon of mass destruction is a nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, or other device that is intended to harm a large number of people.”
Former FBI agent and justice contributor for NewsNation Jennifer Coffindaffer weighed in on the implications of such a charge.
“Essentially, it’s a weapon that can be used to cause a lot of damage to any sort of infrastructure or a large population,” she said. “That can be radiological, that could be chemical, that could be nuclear, that could be explosive. We don’t know the exact details, but this is a very serious charge.”
Hellbound and Down 