Ryan Wesley Routh, accused of aiming a rifle at former President Donald Trump on Sunday, "frequently spoke about killing and assassinating world leaders," including Trump and President Joe Biden, according to a nurse who volunteered with Routh in Ukraine.
Chelsea Walsh, from West Balm Peach, Florida, told Newsmax on Thursday that she met Routh in 2022 while volunteering with a humanitarian aid group in Ukraine shortly after Russia's invasion.
"Ryan didn't seem like he was dangerous at first, but over time, you got to know that there's something very off about this man, there were a lot of red flags that built up," Walsh said on "Wake Up America."
She said that during their time in Ukraine, Routh "was getting involved in things he shouldn't have been involved with, in both the humanitarian and the military aspects of things," and having "very disturbing conversations with people, including myself."
Walsh described Routh as having "very creepy and suspicious behaviors," such as "a tendency to lurk the streets of Kyiv."
She said Routh "would walk up and down the streets all day looking for people, keeping tabs on people. He always wanted to know where people were and what people were doing, and that was always something that was a little unsettling."
Walsh also said that "Ryan frequently spoke about killing and assassinating world leaders," adding that "he did speak about Trump and Biden," but could not remember specifics about what he said. Walsh said she reported him to the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and Interpol, but was not contacted by any agency until after Routh’s arrest.
"The first time I left Ukraine was related to a very disturbing conversation that I had with Ryan that I'd rather not go into on air, but he left me feeling very unsettled, and possibly that I was in danger being around him if I stayed longer," Walsh said.
"It didn't surprise me that he did this. It did surprise me that he didn't pull the trigger."
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