The X.com and Facebook accounts of Ryan Routh, the man suspected of a second attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump, were both suspended soon after he was captured by authorities on Sunday.
Why exactly? That remains unclear on Monday morning, with both X.com and Meta, Facebook’s parent company, failing to explain why the public can’t read his previous posts. TheWrap reached out to both companies for comment, as well as a potential timeline for when his posts may be available again, but hasn’t heard back.
Routh’s account was most likely booted from X.com for violating the company’s policy on “perpetrators of violent attacks.” The policy, which you can read here, says:
“We will remove any accounts maintained by individual perpetrators of terrorist, violent extremist, or mass violent attacks, as well as any accounts glorifying the perpetrator(s), or dedicated to sharing manifestos and/or third party links where related content is hosted. We may also remove Posts disseminating manifestos or other content produced by perpetrators.”
X.com owner Elon Musk, as well as CEO Linda Yaccarino, have not posted on the company’s decision to suspend Routh’s account.
“The man is clearly unhinged and easily influenced by the media’s incessant call for Trump’s death,” Musk said on Monday morning, in response to a post about a book written by Routh.
In the book, titled “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” Routh said Iran was “free to assassinate Trump as well as me” for the US “dismantling” its nuclear deal with the country. Routh also called Trump a “retarded child” in that same paragraph.
On Facebook, Routh’s former account is still visible, but his posts are not available to be read.
Some internet sleuths recorded Routh’s X.com posts before his account was suspended. You can see them below:
In a tweet from June 2020 where he tagged Trump, Routh said he voted for the former president in 2016 but that he was “getting worse and devolving; are you retarded; I will be glad when you gone.”
The 58-year-old Routh was apprehended by authorities on Sunday after he allegedly pointed his rifle through a fence that was 300-500 yards away from the former president at Trump International golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
He was charged on Monday of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and of possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Routh may face more serious charges as the investigation unfolds, the Associated Press reported.
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