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Alleged Trump Gunman Was My Hawaii Pickleball Partner

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Alleged Trump Gunman Was My Hawaii Pickleball Partner


Before Ryan Wesley Routh allegedly became the second man to try and kill Donald Trump in as many months, he was something else entirely: A fiend on the pickleball court.

“He was a reasonably good player. He played really hard,” Bryant Schultz told The Daily Beast in a phone interview. “He was the only one out at the courts who would dive for the ball. Most pickleball players do not dive to make a shot.”

Schultz, 62, of Kaneohe, Oahu, played frequently with Routh, 58, over a period of several years as part of a loose coalition of residents who showed up at Swanzy Beach Park three mornings a week to get their pickleball on.

Both on and off the court, Routh was “always personable and good-natured,” Schultz said, as well as chatty, on friendly terms with many of the park’s regulars. Hard on himself when he made mistakes, he never chastised his partners. “Except for his own errors, he was the most mild-mannered player out there.”

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Routh first appeared at the park after the worst of the pandemic had passed, Schultz recalled. “He never appeared to have a bunch of money,” he said. “He was often borrowing paddles. For quite a while, he played with a really chewed-up wooden paddle—because of his dive, you know.”

During a federal court appearance on Monday, Routh was charged with two firearm possession counts. He told the court that he had “zero funds” in savings and had no assets beyond two trucks in Hawaii, according to CNN.

It wasn’t totally clear to his teammates what Routh did for a living. Schultz heard that he “worked on building tiny houses” and would do odd-job repairs around the community, including on a local pier. “He wasn’t paid or contracted,” as far as Schultz knew, he said. “He just went out and made the surface safe for people to walk on.”

On his LinkedIn page, which remained live on Monday, Routh advertised his work with a company called Camp Box Honolulu, which he wrote builds storage units and “very simple housing structures for the less fortunate.” In 2019, a year after Routh moved to Oahu, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that he’d pledged to build tiny homes for Kalaeloa’s homeless community.

One thing Routh didn’t appear to be—at least on the pickleball court—was political.

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“I can’t recall him ever talking politics,” Schultz said. He’d had no idea Routh had self-published a 291-page book last year in which he called for Trump’s assassination, criticizing the former president for his 2018 withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. (Authorities have not yet laid out a possible motive in Sunday’s assassination attempt.)

In a section apparently directed at Iran’s government, Routh wrote, “You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the deal,” according to The Wall Street Journal. “No one here in the US seems to have the balls to put natural selection to work or even unnatural selection.”

Routh has a scattered political history tracing back to his time in his native North Carolina, where he registered as an “unaffiliated” voter in 2012. In his book, he groused that he was “so tired of people asking me if I am a Democrat or Republican as I refuse to be put in a category and I must always answer independent.”

On social media, he had professed support for Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard, President Joe Biden, and Trump, whom he disavowed in mid-2020.

“I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving…” he tweeted that June. “I will be glad when you gone.”

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Schultz and his fellow picklers were aware, however, that Routh left Hawaii for Ukraine shortly after the Russian invasion, intent on fighting for Kyiv.

With no military experience and a lengthy criminal record, however, Routh was rebuffed by the Ukrainian defense ministry, he told Newsweek Romania in an article recently unearthed by CBS News.

“My initial goal was to come fight… but I’m 56, so initially they were like, I have no military experience, so they were like, you’re not an ideal candidate,” he told the magazine. “So they said, not right this minute. So plan B was to come here to Kyiv and promote getting more people here.”

Routh spent some time in the city trying to act as an informal recruiter for Ukraine’s International Legion, and spoke to both The New York Times and Semafor last year about his efforts. But several foreign soldiers involved with the legion told Slate on Sunday night that Routh “was not associated with them, recruited nobody to the cause, and did little during his time in Ukraine aside from garner publicity for himself.”

In a statement to NBC News, a spokesperson for the legion said, “We would like to clarify that Ryan Wesley Routh has never been part of, associated with, or linked to the International Legion in any capacity. Any claims or suggestions indicating otherwise are entirely inaccurate.”

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After failing in his recruitment efforts, Routh eventually made his way back to Hawaii, where he took up pickleball again. The last time Schultz saw him was around four or five weeks before the assassination attempt, he said. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary; it was just another day on the court.



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Family of Hawaii photographer Hannah Kobayashi, who vanished on ‘bucket list’ NYC trip, didn’t hear from detectives for 10 days

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Family of Hawaii photographer Hannah Kobayashi, who vanished on ‘bucket list’ NYC trip, didn’t hear from detectives for 10 days


The family of Hannah Kobayashi — the Hawaiian photographer who vanished while heading on a “bucket list” vacation to New York — say they did not hear from detectives for 10 days, and only after holding a rally demanding action.

Kobayashi missed a connecting flight to New York and was left stranded in Los Angeles after leaving the confines of LAX on Nov. 8, with her family last hearing from her three days later when she sent a series of alarming text messages.

The 30-year-old’s family filed a missing persons report the next day — but say they hadn’t heard anything from officials until they held a rally in the streets of LA on Thursday.

Hannah Kobayashi has been missing since flying from Hawaii to Los Angeles on Nov. 8, 2024. Facebook

“As of today the police have reached out to family members who last spoke with Hannah,” Kobayashi’s aunt Larie Pidgeon told the Daily Mail during the gathering. “We want them to take it a bit more seriously.

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“We think they realize we’re not going away and we’re going to be really loud. We’re going to do something until they do something,” she added. “I think now they are beginning the process of what we began six days ago.”

The Thursday rally was held in downtown LA, a block from Kobayashi’s last known location, the outlet reported.

Pidgeon said the family wasn’t giving up their search for Kobayashi.

Her father shared the same sentiment after his daughter went on a trip that was a “bucket list dream that became reality.”

“We will do everything we can until we have found her,” Ryan Kobayashi told the outlet. “We just need to get the word out there about her.”

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Volunteers put up missing person flyers for Kobayashi in Los Angeles on Nov. 21, 2024. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Volunteers hand out the flyers near Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

“She’s a wonderful person who brings joy to so many people,” he added

Kobayashi, of Haiku, flew from Maui to Los Angeles on Nov. 8, and was meant to make a connecting flight to New York, where she would be staying with another aunt.

Surveillance footage shows her arriving in LA, but she missed her connecting flight 42 minutes later.

After missing her flight, Kobyashi sent odd texts to her family and friends before she vanished, including messaging a friend that she “got tricked into pretty much giving away all my funds.”

A missing person poster for Kobayashi shared by family members on Facebook. Facebook / Sydni Kobayashi

In another message, she claimed she was supposedly fooled by “someone I thought I loved.”

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“Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f–k since Friday,” another message read.

Family previously said the texts supposedly from Kobayashi are not like her.

Kobayashi was seen arriving at LAX on Nov. 8, 2024. Missing People In America/Facebook

Other footage showed Kobayashi at the Grove shopping center in the Fairfax District of LA on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10, as well as video of her returning to LAX, but not getting on a flight on Nov. 11 before she was seen near the metro station, USA Today reported.

Her phone has been off since Nov. 11, the family previously said.

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Family of missing Hawaii woman Hannah Kobayashi reveal shocking police detail after she mysteriously vanished on trip of a lifetime

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Family of missing Hawaii woman Hannah Kobayashi reveal shocking police detail after she mysteriously vanished on trip of a lifetime


Detectives waited ten days from when she was last heard from to interview the family of missing Hannah Kobayashi, her worried family has revealed.

The 30-year-old aspiring photographer disappeared from the streets of downtown Los Angeles after missing a connecting flight from her native Maui in Hawaii en-route to New York City.

It remains unclear why she left LA’s LAX airport and ventured out into the city 15 miles away but she sent a text to a friend saying she had had a ‘spiritual awakening’, and was later seen in the company of a mystery man.

On Thursday, frantic friends and family gathered in downtown LA, a block from where she was last seen, to spread the message and encourage the public to report any sightings and information they may have.

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‘As of today the police have reached out to family members who last spoke with Hannah,’ her aunt Larie Pidgeon told DailyMail.com on Thursday.

‘We want them to take it a bit more seriously.

‘We think they realize we’re not going away and we’re going to be really loud. We’re going to do something until they do something.

‘I think now they are beginning the process of what we began six days ago.

Hannah Kobayashi, 30, disappeared from the streets of downtown Los Angeles after missing a connecting flight from her native Maui in Hawaii en route to New York City

On Thursday, frantic friends and family, including her devastated dad Ryan Kobayashi (pictured) gathered in downtown LA, a block from where she was last seen, to spread the message and encourage the public to report any sightings and information they may have

On Thursday, frantic friends and family, including her devastated dad Ryan Kobayashi (pictured) gathered in downtown LA, a block from where she was last seen, to spread the message and encourage the public to report any sightings and information they may have

Hannah had been flying to meet another aunt in New York when she missed her connecting flight in Los Angeles

Hannah had been flying to meet another aunt in New York when she missed her connecting flight in Los Angeles 

‘The entire world is looking for you (Hannah) because that’s how special you are.

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‘We are not going to stop until we find you. We love you.’

Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, was handing out missing person flyers to passers-by and told DailyMail.com: ‘We will do everything we can until we have found her. We just need to get the word out there about her.

‘She’s a wonderful person who brings joy to so many people.’

The trip began in Maui on November 8 which she described in a hand-written itinerary as a ‘bucket list dreams become reality.’ 

Hannah had been flying to meet another aunt in New York when she missed her connecting flight in LA. 

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Family members and a friend received a series of cryptic texts from Hannah’s phone, causing them to fear she may have been abducted or trafficked. 

Another aunt, Geordan Montalvo and her husband Bob, both 51, were scheduled to see Hannah when she arrived in New York.

‘She’s really amazing,’ he tells DailyMail.com of Hannah. ‘She’s got a great spirit. She’s artistic and loving.’

The trio were scheduled to attend a DJ Scott Hansen – aka Tycho – concert at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn on November 12. 

They had planned the trip with a former boyfriend who was on the flight from Maui with her, says her mother Brandi Yee, although the former couple would not be together in New York after landing at JFK airport.

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Bob Montalvo and Geordan Montalvo, the uncle and aunt of Hannah Kobayashi , who has been missing for 11 days gathers with the rest of the family in downtown Los Angeles to speak to the media and pass out flyers to raise awareness for their missing loved one

Bob Montalvo and Geordan Montalvo, the uncle and aunt of Hannah Kobayashi , who has been missing for 11 days gathers with the rest of the family in downtown Los Angeles to speak to the media and pass out flyers to raise awareness for their missing loved one

Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, was handing out missing person flyers to passers-by and told DailyMail.com: ‘We will do everything we can until we have found her. We just need to get the word out there about her'

Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, was handing out missing person flyers to passers-by and told DailyMail.com: ‘We will do everything we can until we have found her. We just need to get the word out there about her’ 

It remains unclear why the 30-year-old aspiring photographer left LAX airport and ventured out into the city 15 miles away

It remains unclear why the 30-year-old aspiring photographer left LAX airport and ventured out into the city 15 miles away 

She said the ex-boyfriend, who had continued on to New York, is being helpful with the hunt for Hannah.

Hannah was spotted out in Los Angeles on November 9 at the Tashen bookstore located at The Grove shopping center.

Her sister Sydni Kobayashi has previously stated that Hannah sent a Venmo payment to two people whose names the family does not recognize. A photo of the event also appeared to have been posted on her Instagram account.

That day, family and friends received ‘weird’ texts from Kobayashi, but they did not hear from her again.

However, a day later on November 11, surveillance video around a downtown Los Angeles Metro train station near the Crypto.com arena showed her with an unknown person. Her family said she “does not appear to be in good condition” in the footage.

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‘She didn’t look her normal self,’ Pigeon told DailyMail.com ‘She was with someone but we don’t know it was at this point. She didn’t look like she was safe.’

On November 11, Hannah sent a string of strange texts to a friend.

The missing Maui native vanished during a layover in Los Angeles while traveling from her home in Hawaii to New York and was spotted getting off her flight at LAX

The missing Maui native vanished during a layover in Los Angeles while traveling from her home in Hawaii to New York and was spotted getting off her flight at LAX

A series of texts have led the family to believe Kobayashi was not alone when she disappeared. They say diction in the texts indicates they were written by someone else

A series of texts have led the family to believe Kobayashi was not alone when she disappeared. They say diction in the texts indicates they were written by someone else

She wrote ‘Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f*** since Friday.’

Another text said ‘I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds, followed by one saying, ‘For someone I thought I loved.’

Pidgeon added: ‘We’re not sure if Hannah actually wrote the texts or if someone else did.’

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Lawsuit challenges Hawaii’s gun ownership ban for young adults

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Lawsuit challenges Hawaii’s gun ownership ban for young adults


The latest lawsuit to take aim at Hawaii’s gun laws challenges the state’s ban on gun ownership for young adults 18 to 20 years old, which Second Amendment advocates say is an unconstitutional restriction on the right of Americans to bear arms.

Elijah Pinales, 19, and Juda Roache, who turns 18 next month, want to own guns for self-defense, according to their lawsuit filed Wednesday night in U.S. District Court in Honolulu.

Their lawyers assert that Hawaii is the only state with a complete ban on acquiring and owning firearms and ammunition by those who are 18 to 20. Some states allow 18-year-olds to purchase a long gun and some allow for private party transfer of handguns, said Alan Beck, one of the lawyers who filed the lawsuit and has lodged numerous other challenges to Hawaii weapons laws.

Roache’s mother wants to give him a firearm and ammunition, the lawsuit says.

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Federal law requires a person to be 21 to purchase a handgun from a licensed firearm dealer and 18 to buy a long gun from a dealer, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. There’s an 18-year-old minimum for handgun purchases from unlicensed sellers and no minimum age for long guns, according to the group’s research.

New York and Illinois also have broad laws limiting people under 21 from possessing firearms, said David Pucino, legal director and deputy chief counsel for the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

“Hawai’i has some of the strongest gun laws in the country and it has among the very lowest gun death rates,” he said in a statement Thursday. “That’s not an accident, but it hasn’t stopped extremists from attacking Hawai’i’s gun laws at every turn.”

According to Everytown, firearms are the leading cause of death for young people ages 18 to 20, the firearm suicide rate in that age group has jumped 41% in the last decade, and 18- to 20-year-olds commit gun homicides at triple the rate of those 21 and older.

The Hawaii attorney general’s office said it had not been served with the complaint and declined to comment.

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“There can be no real argument that adults under 21 are not part of the national community,” the lawsuit said, noting that 18-to-20-year-olds have the right to vote. “They have the right to serve in the military and are otherwise full-fledged members of society and the People.”

The quest for a preliminary injunction against enforcing a prohibition on gun ownership for young adults comes as Hawaii continues to contend with a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that said Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.

The so-called Bruen decision upended gun laws nationwide and set a new standard for interpreting gun laws, such that modern firearm laws must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.

There’s no historical tradition of prohibiting the purchase and ownership of firearms and ammunition by adults under 21, according to the lawsuit, which describes some of the nation’s founding figures such as Aaron Burr, who at 19 enlisted in the Continental Army with his own arms and ammunition, and James Monroe who did the same at 18.

Hawaii’s gun ownership ban for young adults dates to 1994, the lawsuit said. The state “doubled down” this year by prohibiting the possession of ammunition by those under 21, the lawsuit said.

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Danger Close Tactical in Honolulu and JGB Arms on Kauai are federally licensed firearms dealers who are plaintiffs in the case because they want to do business with customers who are 18 to 20 years old, the lawsuit said.

Another plaintiff is the Second Amendment Foundation, a nonprofit in Bellevue, Washington.



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