BBC Verify has found social media profiles matching Mr Routh’s name. They indicate that Routh called for foreign fighters to go to Ukraine to battle against Russian forces.
There are also pro-Palestinian, pro-Taiwan and anti-China messages on his profile, including allegations about Chinese “biological warfare” and references to the Covid-19 virus as an “attack”.
Mr Routh, who had no military experience, told the New York Times in 2023 he had travelled to Ukraine immediately after Russia’s invasion in 2022 to find military recruits among Afghan soldiers who had fled the Taliban.
He seems to have been involved in recruitment efforts as recently as this summer, writing on Facebook in July: “Soldiers, please do not call me. We are still trying to get Ukraine to accept Afghan soldiers and hope to have some answers in the coming months… please have patience.”
Early reporting suggests Mr Routh had a criminal record. According to CBS sources, Ryan Routh was charged and convicted of numerous felony offences in Guilford County in North Carolina between 2002 and 2010.
The offences include including carrying a concealed weapon, resisting arrest by a police officer, driving with a revoked licence, possession of stolen property and hit and run with a motor vehicle.
Questioned by a judge in a West Palm Beach federal court on Monday, Routh said he had “zero funds” in his bank account.
He said that he had a monthly income of around $3,000 (£2,300). His only assets, he told the court, are two trucks in Hawaii worth about $1,000 (£760) each.
