Ryan Routh's bizarre behavior in Ukraine revealed by Army vet who claims Trump 'assassin' was rejected as volunteer

The man who allegedly tried to assassinate Donald Trump on a golf course paraded through the streets of Ukraine while wearing an American flag cape and shouting 'USA,' according to volunteer.

Army veteran Terry Burton, 47, described Ryan Routh as a 'mentally ill' Trump fanatic who portrayed himself as an American hero and believed he could save Ukraine with an army of Afghan ISIS fighters.

Burton met Routh in Kyiv after he travelled to the besieged nation to offer his services. However Routh, 58, was rejected as a volunteer due to his lack of military background. 

Burton claims that Routh made several outlandish declarations, including that he had the loyalty of '100,000 Afghani soldiers, Taliban soldiers and ISIS soldiers' at his disposal.

Routh has since been charged with weapons offences over the assassination attempt against Trump in Mar-a-Lago on Sunday.

Burton, from Sandusky, Ohio, said that he immediately knew that Routh was not what the Ukrainian forces were looking for.

'When I first met him, he was wearing an American flag as a cape,' he told News5 Cleveland. 'He was wearing an American flag T-shirt as well as American flag baggy pants. 

'It was apparent really at first sight that he wasn't exactly what they were looking for. He really wasn't what any volunteer group was looking for.'

He added that Routh had expressed a desire to be among those who stormed the Capitol on Jan 6.

'Every conversation was about Donald Trump. Every conversation was about how he was upset that Biden had won,' he said.

'He mentioned January 6th. He wished that he would have been a part of that. That was a new American Revolution.'

He claimed Routh chanted 'USA!' in the streets and believed Ukrainians should be thanking him personally because America aided Europe during the Second World War. 

'Him bringing this attention to Americans being in this area, that was tactically not sound,' said Burton.

The tensions escalated into a physical fight at one point, according to Burton, who described Routh as a 'pariah' to those trying to assist Ukraine.

But he was still stunned when news of Routh's arrest broke.

'It was a little bit surreal,' said Burton. 'It was like, wow. This mentally ill individual that I dealt with in Ukraine just tried to assassinate the former president.'

Routh was arrested after authorities spotted a gun poking out of shrubbery on the golf course where Trump was playing.

He camped outside the golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, lying in wait for the former president before a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire.

Routh did not fire any shots, never had Trump in his line of sight and sped away, leaving behind a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and a plastic bag containing food, officials said. 

In 2016, Routh voted for Trump. But in 2024, he backed Nikki Haley's run for the Republican nomination after seemingly becoming disenchanted with the former president.

Public financial records also show that Routh donated small amounts of money to Democrats in 2020.

In 2023, Routh self-published a book 'Ukraine's Unwinnable War' in which he called on Iran to assassinate the former president.

In his rambling prose, he also called the Republican nominee a 'buffoon', a 'fool' and 'brainless'.

Routh’s attorney declined to comment after he appeared briefly in federal court Monday, when a judge ordered that he remain locked up after prosecutors argued that he was a flight risk.