The 58-year-old man accused of pointing an AK-47 at former President Donald Trump on Sunday afternoon has a prolific arrest record that spans several decades.

Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested shortly after the incident at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. Authorities said Secret Service agents fired at him after seeing the muzzle of his AK-47 pointing through a chain-link fence one hole ahead of where Trump was playing.

Authorities are treating the episode as an apparent assassination attempt on Trump.

A background check on the name given by officials, Ryan Wesley Routh, revealed that he currently lives in Hawaii and has faced dozens of run-ins with police, stretching back to at least the 1990s.

Routh is a native of North Carolina, where his list of arrests includes simple drug possession, driving without a license, expired inspection and operating a vehicle with no insurance. In addition, the Greensboro News & Record reported in 2002 that Routh was arrested after barricading himself in his roofing company’s office during a three-hour standoff that followed a traffic stop in which he put his hand on a gun before fleeing.

TRUMP SAFE AFTER ‘GUNSHOTS IN HIS VICINITY,’ CAMPAIGN SAYS

Sheriff vehicles are pictured near Trump International Golf Club, Sunday. Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla., after gunshots were reported in the vicinity of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Stephanie Matat)

Routh moved to Hawaii in 2017, records show. He has since launched another construction company in Hawaii that builds simple housing structures for homeless people, according to a LinkedIn page that appears to belong to Routh.  

“This does not appear to be some random guy with an AK-47 walking outside Trump’s club,” an official said after the Sunday afternoon incident.

FILE: The motorcade for President Donald Trump arrives at Trump International Golf Club, Feb. 15, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Fla. 

News of the incident broke shortly after Trump was safely escorted off of the golf course. 

A Secret Service member spotted the would-be gunman while Trump was playing on the course’s fifth hole. Officials say he abandoned an AK-47, a go-pro camera and two backpacks along a chain-link fence that borders the sixth hole of the course. 

Routh fled in an SUV after a member of the Secret Service fired on him, but was soon arrested, according to authorities.

Trump’s campaign quickly issued a statement that the 45th president was safe, with Trump following up in a message to supporters that he will “never surrender.” 

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson confirmed that the Secret Service opened fire after they saw a man lift an AK-47. The suspect took off in a car but was quickly apprehended, authorities said.

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“There were gunshots in my vicinity but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” he wrote in a message that was shared on social media.

“Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!” he continued. “I will always love you for supporting me. Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again. May God bless you.”

Travel stirs the soul and motivates the muse of even the most inartful explorers. 

“People don’t take trips . . . trips take people,” proclaimed author John Steinbeck, who famously captured rough times on the road from the Oklahoma Dust Bowl to golden California in his 1939 novel “The Grapes of Wrath.”

New lavish landscapes, first-time flavors and curious cultures inspire an itch among wide-eyed wanderers to capture the joy of new discoveries in photos, journals, social media posts and even the time-honored art of penning postcards.

FROM ALABAMA TO TEXAS, US TRAVEL SPOTS TO SOAK UP AMERICAN SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

For the most gifted and most inspired travelers, new discoveries inspire words, books, songs, images and art that plant themselves in popular culture. 

Here’s a look at five landmarks of American travel inspirational enough to shape the national culture. 

1. California – Big Sur

Big Sur reminds visitors that California, the most populous state in the union, still boasts awe-inspiring natural beauty. 

State Route 1 hangs precariously between the Santa Lucia Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, offering dramatic and sometimes nerve-wracking vistas of land, sea and towering redwood forests. 

“Jack Kerouac . . . helped popularize the rugged coastal scenery with the 1962 novel “Big Sur.”

Jack Kerouac, already famous for “On the Road,” helped popularize the rugged coastal scenery with the 1962 novel “Big Sur.”

The Beach Boys, Alanis Morissette and Johnny Rivers have all performed songs with “Big Sur” in the title, while several movies have been filmed there. Famed novelist Henry Miller lived for many years in Big Sur, where the Henry Miller Memorial Library still celebrates his legacy. 

Millions drive the 70-mile stretch of road through Big Sur each year, but it remains remarkably isolated, with few permanent residents or roadside amenities. Landslides frequently make Big Sur inaccessible by auto, including here in 2024. 

2. Florida – Key West

A man and woman with rented bicycles outside Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The Florida Keys begin just south of Miami and extend more than 100 miles west into the Gulf of Mexico. 

The spectacular archipelago of coral islands offers one of the most stunning drives in the nation, with the feeling of skimming across the ocean as autos leap from one island to the next. 

The road ends in Key West, an adult paradise of boozy singalong bars, seafood shacks and leisurely nightlife. The most popular activity in Key West is watching the sun set gloriously each night from Mallory Square. 

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Key West has probably inspired more books, songs and hangovers per square mile than any city in America. 

Musician Jimmy Buffett turned this real-life “Margaritaville” into an entire sub-genre of tiki-cocktail flavored, sun-soaked pop tunes. Kenny Chesney and Bob Dylan, among many others, sing rapturously of Key West.

Ernest Hemingway lived in Key West when he wrote many of his famous novels, including “A Farewell to Arms,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Death in the Afternoon.” His Key West home is one of America’s most popular literary landmarks.

3. Georgia – Savannah Historic District

Savannah, Georgia, landmark sign notes that the city was the home of “Jingle Bells” composer James L. Pierpont. It does not state that the song was written in Savannah, recognizing the mystery of the song’s origin. (Courtesy Visit Savannah)

The 18th-century south thrives today amid the verdant squares of Savannah. 

Visitors love the slow-paced city, nearly 300 years old, for the colonial cobblestones of River Street; delicious restaurants highlighting the best of southern fare, such as Paula Deen’s flagship eatery The Lady and Sons and its historic layout of leafy downtown squares.

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Savannah had newfound popularity following its haunting, captivating portrayal in the 1994 bestselling book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” 

That same year, Savannah set the stage for one of biggest movie hits of all time. War hero and tech tycoon “Forrest Gump” narrated his amazing tale while waiting for a bus in Chippewa Square.

Savannah also claims to have inspired one of the most popular tunes in world history. James Lord Pierpoint, a Savannah church musician, wrote “Jingle Bells” in the 1850s.

4. New Jersey – Asbury Park Boardwalk

Fortune teller Madam Marie is among the local oddities that give the Asbury Park boardwalk its festive vibe. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

New Jersey’s boardwalks fuel a festive American carnival-like culture up and down the Garden State coast. The boardwalk in the juke-joint town of Asbury Park may be the most iconic — offering scenic ocean vistas, easy access to New York City and notable contributions to American pop culture. 

Bruce Springsteen burst onto the American cultural scene with his debut album, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.,” helping to fuel the city’s rep as a rock music haven.

Today’s attractions include the Silverball Retro Arcade, the Stephen Crane House, which was the home of the author of the famed Civil War novel “The Red Badge of Courage,” and celebrated music venue The Stone Pony.

“Did you hear the cops finally busted Madam Marie / for telling fortunes better than they do / For me this boardwalk life is through,” Springsteen croons to Sandy in his 1973 hit “4th of July, Asbury Park.” 

Yet fortune-teller Madam Marie’s stall remains and New Jersey’s boardwalk scene still thrives. 

5. Ohio – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Elvis Presley, rock & roll star of the 1950s, performs on stage. (Getty Images)

The American-born art form of rock ‘n’ roll fused artistic and cultural influences in the years after World War II. It would light the fire of global pop music in the 1950s.

The best performers of the genre are immortalized within the I.M. Pei-designed museum in Cleveland. 

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The Rock Hall was sited on the banks of Lake Erie in deference to Cleveland’s role in shaping the future of pop culture. 

Cleveland, among other contributions, was the home of celebrated DJ Alan Freed. An enthusiastic promoter of the new genre, he is credited with coining the globally known term “rock ‘n’ roll” itself. 

Ernest Hemingway lookalike contest, Key West, Fla.; Big Sur, Calif.; and Bruce Springsteen. 

Freed also hosted the Moondog Coronation Ball in 1952, widely proclaimed the first rock concert.

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The Rock Hall now wraps its arms around many other genres, including rappers (Grandmaster Flash), country stars (Bob Wills), soul crooners (Al Green) and pre-rock-era icons (Louis Armstrong), among others. 

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump dueled it out during their first presidential debate on Tuesday and, with the debate behind them, they are now traveling to different swing states where they will get the chance to speak directly with voters.

Trump has his sights set on Arizona, where he will hold a rally in Tucson, while the Harris team is heading to North Carolina, where she’s scheduled to hold events in Charlotte and Greensboro.

Arizona and North Carolina are both considered among prized battlegrounds for the 2024 election and the opposing campaigns undoubtedly understand that securing either will help expand their narrow paths to victory in a closely fought presidential race.

Thursday’s events come after both candidates spent Wednesday commemorating those who lost their lives during the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

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Polling experts say only a handful of battleground states will ultimately decide the outcome of the election and the candidates’ respective destinations give insight into their strategies.

Harris hit the ground running in her first post-debate campaign push, releasing a new ad that featured quotes from their showdown.

The current vice president also announced that she would be returning to North Carolina for a pair of rallies.

Trump won North Carolina in both of his previous White House bids. The former president held rallies throughout the state last month and Republicans have been confident about his chances to win the state for a third time.

However, Trump’s 2020 margin of victory in the state was just 1.3 percentage points, his narrowest win of any state that year.

Battlegrounds have been won and lost together

The Harris campaign’s eagerness to return to North Carolina points to their hope that its diversifying population will give them a chance to flip the state this go around. Harris’s campaign said Thursday’s trip will be her ninth to the state this year.

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Historically, Democrats haven’t won North Carolina’s electoral votes since 2008, when former President Obama was elected for the first time.

Registered independents — also known as unaffiliated voters — are the state’s largest voting bloc, so it is widely up for grabs.

A state Supreme Court ruling this week affirming that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must be removed from North Carolina ballots could bring additional votes Trump’s way. Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat who was running as an Independent, endorsed Trump in the race.

Historically, Republicans have dominated North Carolina in recent years and the state has voted red in 10 of the last 11 presidential elections (Obama won the state in 2008).

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In Arizona, the political trend is similar — with one major exception.

While Trump won Arizona in 2016, he lost it in 2020. Republicans have won Arizona in nearly every presidential election since World War II, but President Biden eked out a narrow victory in 2020.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, right, and former US President Donald Trump shake hands during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Getty Images)

More recently, the state has only voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in two of the last 18 elections (Clinton in 1996 and Biden in 2020).

Arizona was particularly tumultuous for Trump in 2020 as he previously clashed with the late U.S. Senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

Republicans still outnumber Democrats in Arizona, but a third of voters are independents.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, visit with firefighters outside FDNY Engine 4/Tower Ladder 15 fire house in lower Manhattan on the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on September 11, 2024, in New York City.  (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Wednesday’s somber display provided respite from partisan politics in the high-speed campaign season.

At a fire station in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, close to where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after passengers fought back against their hijackers, Trump met with locals. Biden and Harris visited the same fire station earlier in the day.

Trump and Harris met in-person later the same day, when both traveled to Manhattan for another 9/11 ceremony.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.