Was Ryan Routh photographed at a Kamala Harris rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, three days before he was arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate Donald Trump? No, that's not true. The man in the video posted on social media has multiple facial features that differ from Routh's mugshot. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police also say they are not investigating any cases involving Routh.
The implied claim appeared in a post on X on September 19, 2024 (archived here). The post's caption said:
UPDATE: 2nd Trump Assassination Attempt The Shooter, Ryan Routh,is believed to have been spotted at Kamala Harris' North Carolina Rally on September 12 when they bussed everyone in. What do you think? Same person? https://t.co/0rDUJTzHiP
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
MJTruthUltra on Twitter
UPDATE: 2nd Trump Assassination Attempt The Shooter, Ryan Routh,is believed to have been spotted at Kamala Harris' North Carolina Rally on September 12 when they bussed everyone in. What do you think? Same person? https://t.co/0rDUJTzHiP
In the FBI proffer (archived here) to keep Routh in custody until trial, investigators said Routh's cell phone accessed cell towers near Trump's golf course or his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida between August 18 and September 15, 2024.
The Harris rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, was on September 12, 2024. Routh was arrested in Florida on September 15, 2024.
The video shared in the post on X has a low resolution. The footage shows a long line of people preparing to enter the Harris rally. One of the people in line is a white man with a short grey beard, wearing a backwards baseball cap, salmon-colored shirt and several wrist bracelets.
Lead Stories contacted the original photographer of the 32-second clip. He had posted the video online with a pro-Harris caption but then subsequently deleted that post. He asked not to be named but agreed to share the high-definition version of the footage, which is archived here.
(Source: Lead Stories comparison of rally video screenshot and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office mugshot created Wed Oct 2 15:19:47 2024 UTC)
Several differences emerge when comparing a freeze frame image of the rallygoer with Routh's mugshot, taken three days later. Although hair dye and a concealer cream could explain the differences seen in images #3, #5 and #6, the overall disparities between these shots remain substantial.
1. Routh's eyebrows in the mugshot are blond and thicker.
(Source: Lead Stories comparison of rally video screenshot and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office mugshot created Wed Oct 2 15:20:23 2024 UTC
2. The rallygoer has a pierced right ear. Routh's right ear is not pierced.
(Source: Lead Stories comparison of rally video screenshot and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office mugshot created Wed Oct 2 15:20:36 2024 UTC
3. Routh has blond hair. The rallygoer's cap covers much of his hair, but the sides are a mixture of brown and gray.
(Source: Lead Stories comparison of rally video screenshot and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office mugshot created Wed Oct 2 15:20:53 2024 UTC
4. Routh's hair is longer on the side.
(Source: Lead Stories comparison of rally video screenshot and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office mugshot created Wed Oct 2 15:21:03 2024 UTC
5. There is no freckle on the left side of Routh's face.
(Source: Lead Stories comparison of rally video screenshot and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office mugshot created Wed Oct 2 15:21:13 2024 UTC
6. There is no freckle above Routh's right eye.
(Source: Lead Stories comparison of rally video screenshot and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office mugshot created Wed Oct 2 15:21:21 2024 UTC
When contacted by Lead Stories, the FBI would not comment on whether Routh was at the Charlotte rally. An agency representative said that the bureau does not comment on open investigations.
A spokesperson for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department would only say that "we are not investigating any cases related to Ryan Routh."
Agence France-Presse posted a similar fact check about the rallygoer video on September 20, 2024.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims about Ryan Routh can be found here. Other Lead Stories fact checks about the 2024 U.S. presidential election can be found here.
