‘Didn’t Even Let Off Any Shots:’ Wikipedia Editors Push To Delete Trump Shooter Page

Wikipedia editors are pushing to delete a page on Ryan Wesley Routh, the man accused of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump on Sunday, arguing that Routh is not notable because he was prevented from harming Trump.

Routh’s page is listed as nominated for deletion, and editors are currently debating its fate.

On Sunday, Trump was targeted at his West Palm Beach golf course by a suspect who pointed an AK-47-style rifle through a fence about 400 yards away from the former president. Secret Service opened fire on the suspect, who fled. Routh was later arrested and charged. Trump remained safe and unharmed during the incident.

It was the second assassination attempt on Trump’s life since July 13 when Trump suffered a bloody gunshot to his ear at a Pennsylvania rally.

Wikipedia’s editors were not concerned.

“Nothing really happened here. The event itself might not even warrant its own article,” one Wikipedia editor wrote of Sunday’s assassination attempt.

“The man didn’t even get close,” wrote another. “This guy is not gonna remain notable enough to get his own page a week from now.”

“All that happened yesterday was that someone was found with a gun in a bush at Trump’s golf course. No injuries at all — Routh didn’t even let off any shots,” another person wrote.

“I second deletion. Let us stop making an article for every idiot who trespasses with intentions to commit a felony. We are not a Tabloid! Delete immediately or lose the credibility as an Encyclopedia,” wrote another editor.

Despite its stated commitment to producing accurate, crowd-sourced articles, Wikipedia’s left-leaning bias has been well documented. A Manhattan Institute report found that Wikipedia articles tend to associate negative emotions like “anger and disgust” with right-leaning public figures and positive emotions like “joy” with left-leaning public figures.

Wikipedia is the seventh-most visited domain on the internet, with tens of millions of people reading Wikipedia articles every day. American politics and Donald Trump in particular rank near the top for the most popular articles.

Some editors argued Routh should only be mentioned on the page about “security incidents involving Donald Trump.”

Other Wikipedia editors pushed back on deleting Routh’s page.

“Just when does an attempted Presidential assassin become notable? When he succeeds in getting a shot off?” one editor asked.

“This seems like a cover-up by Harris stans,” wrote another.

“Pretty obvious why some editors want this [page] binned. Yet, we have ‘Thomas Matthew Crooks,’ who outside of an initial flurry of coverage, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll get additional details around what motivated him or his background,” wrote another editor.

Crooks was the gunman who shot Trump in the ear in July. He was killed by a Secret Service sniper.

One Wikipedia editor pointed out that Trump is also the current Republican nominee and noted that the FBI said Routh had been lying in wait for Trump for nearly 12 hours.

“Let the people see the facts as they are publicly known,” that editor said. “Otherwise, the attempt to delete this article is just another censorship attempt. What else do you need… a conviction?”

“If you try to assassinate a president or former president of the United States, you will most certainly make it into the history books. I don’t think I need to state the obvious,” another wrote.

“Two assassination attempts in one election cycle is unprecedented,” another person added. “He’s also an oddball, the information online about him and his motives tell an interesting story that is unique. He probably has the largest digital footprint of any attempted or successful US presidential assassin.”

Routh has a colorful background.

The 58-year-old’s online history shows he held anti-Trump views and was obsessed with the Ukraine war, which he spoke about in a 2022 interview with Newsweek. Routh even traveled overseas hoping to fight in Ukraine’s military against Russia.

Routh also has a decades-long criminal history that includes writing bad checks, possession of a weapon of mass destruction, a hit-and-run, resisting arrest, and a concealed weapons violation.

Still, some Wikipedia editors remained unconvinced.

One editor dismissed the FBI labeling the incident an assassination attempt, saying Routh “did not even shoot close to Trump.”

“This is less of an assassination attempt as it is a security incident or foiled plan,” another editor wrote.

“This is getting absurd. This man has little to no notability,” another person said.

Another editor pointed out that Wikipedia does not have pages for the man who tried to grab a police officer’s gun at a Trump rally in 2016 and admitted he wanted to kill Trump.

“I feel like a person grabbing a cops gun [sic] is not the same as police opening fire on a guy aiming at trump [sic],” another editor responded.

One editor also pointed out that there is a Wikipedia page for Squeaky Fromme, a member of the Manson family who attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975. Ford saw two attempts on his life in 17 days. Trump has seen two attempts on his life in just over two months.

Routh appeared in federal court Monday morning and was charged with both possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

As of Wednesday evening, his Wikipedia page was still live.