AAP FACTCHECK – The man accused of being behind the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump previously appeared in a commercial for the investment firm BlackRock, it is being claimed.
This is false. The claimed commercial is in fact a campaign video highlighting Ukraine’s resistance against Russian forces. It has no connection to BlackRock.
Ryan Wesley Routh, who is facing gun charges in relation to the apparent assassination attempt, flew to Kyiv in 2022 to volunteer in the fight against Russia.
It was in the Ukrainian capital where he was filmed while attending a rally.
Claims have flooded social media since Routh was arrested in Florida on September 15.
One post is captioned: “Would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh appeared in a Ukraine propaganda commercial for Blackrock (clip below). Reminder…The perpetrator of the first assassination attempt on Trump, Thomas Crooks, ALSO appeared in a Blackrock commercial … ”
The post includes an eight-second video of what appears to be a rally in Ukraine, with Routh visible at the five-second mark. The same man is identified as Routh in a BBC news report.
A similar claim is made in an X post, captioned: “Ryan Wesley Routh was in a BlackRock commercial, just like Thomas Matthew Crooks. At what point does it stop being a coincidence?”
The post shares a longer version of the video, with Routh visible at one minute 50 seconds.
AAP FactCheck used reverse image search tools to trace the video to an X post from May 2022 on the Save Azov account.
The video is credited as being from “Defenders of Mariupol”.
The Azov Brigade is an all-volunteer Ukrainian battalion which was heavily involved in the fighting in Mariupol in the early months of the war.
The video was part of a campaign to raise awareness of Ukraine’s defence of Mariupol. It includes footage from a rally in Kyiv’s Independence Square which Routh attended.
The Azov Brigade confirmed on September 16 that the video depicts Routh. However, a spokesperson said he had no connection to the unit.
“The peaceful demonstration he attended was open and anyone could join it,” they said in a statement. “He was caught on the video filmed by the protesters by accident.”
Neither the video, nor the protest, has any connection to BlackRock.
BlackRock said in a statement: “Ryan Routh has never been an employee of BlackRock nor has he appeared in any BlackRock ads. The video circulating on social media has been manipulated to falsely link Routh to BlackRock.”
The claims also allude to Thomas Crooks, who shot at Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania in July.
It is true that he did briefly appear in a BlackRock advertisement that was filmed at his high school. He was one of numerous students briefly featured in the 2022 advertisement.
He had no other connection with the company.
BlackRock is a frequent target of disinformation and AAP FactCheck has debunked numerous previous claims, including that Crooks was pictured with the company’s CEO Larry Fink before the Pennsylvania rally in July.
The Routh claim is also repeated in an article by The People’s Voice, a website repeatedly debunked by AAP FactCheck.
The article’s headline reads: “Both Trump Shooters Appeared In BlackRock-Linked Commercials.”
However, the article does not go on to substantiate the claim about Routh.
The Verdict
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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