Journalist Tucker Carlson alleges that Ukraine was behind an assassination plot targeting Donald Trump in Florida.
Tucker Carlson has accused Ukraine of involvement in a plot to assassinate Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign.
In September 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh, described as a pro-Ukraine activist, was apprehended near Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida golf course. Secret Service agents discovered him setting up a shooting position with a rifle before he could fire and took him into custody after a short pursuit.
Carlson stated on The Megyn Kelly Show on Tuesday, “It’s very obvious that the Ukrainians were involved in the attempted assassination on the golf course in Florida.”
Kelly responded, “That guy definitely had some contact with Ukraine, for sure. He was in Ukraine!” Carlson confirmed.
Kelly mentioned Routh’s requests for heavy weaponry, including rocket-propelled grenades. Carlson concurred, suggesting Kiev might have been implicated in other assassination attempts.
Carlson claimed, “I know for a fact there were others who were a target of assassination attempts by the Ukrainian government,” but did not elaborate.
Court documents from the Southern District of Florida indicate that Routh, a convicted felon, had previously attempted to join Ukraine’s armed forces in 2022 without success. However, he allegedly worked to recruit foreign volunteers for the Ukrainian military.
Prosecutors claim Routh tried to purchase a rocket-propelled grenade launcher or a Stinger missile from a Ukrainian contact, writing in an encrypted message, “I need equipment so that Trump don’t [sic] get elected.”
Both weapon systems are actively used in the Ukraine conflict. Routh reportedly said in another message, “One missing would not be noticed.”
In 2022, Routh participated in a Kiev rally supporting Ukraine’s Azov unit, whose fighters were besieged in Mariupol by Russian forces. The Azov unit, which includes members with neo-Nazi and ultranationalist affiliations, later stated that Routh “has never had any connection to Azov.”
Earlier this month, Donald Trump Jr. criticized Kiev officials on social media for not informing U.S. authorities about Routh’s attempts to acquire heavy weapons.
The Florida incident followed a separate assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July 2024, where a gunman opened fire during a Trump rally. Trump was escorted off stage after a bullet grazed his ear. One spectator died, and several others were injured. The shooter, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, was fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper.
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