Popular YouTuber JiDion has apologized over incorrectly claiming that he’d interacted with the September 15 Trump shooting suspect in one of his older videos.
JiDion previously claimed that a man who featured in his YouTube video in December 2023, was Ryan Routh. Routh is the suspect behind a reported assassination attempt on the life of former US President Donald Trump on September 15 at the politician’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
However, on September 21, the YouTuber posted to his Twitter/X account to state that the person in question was “misidentified.”
“That identification was inaccurate, and the person identified has no relationship and absolutely nothing to do with Ryan Routh and his actions,” JiDion said, adding, “We apologize for our error and hopefully the person will suffer no harm from being misidentified – we wish him only the best.”
During the original YouTube video, he was walking across campus when the influencer ran into a man seemingly protesting the war in Ukraine who claimed he was “looking for revolutionaries” to “take this whole system down.”
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Two days after the attempt, JiDion uploaded another video discussing the fallout after this information was discovered by netizens, saying he was approached by multiple news outlets to speak on the subject.
However, that wasn’t the “craziest” thing about the whole ordeal. JiDion claimed that he’s likely on the FBI’s radar, noting that the investigative bureau will likely have to watch his video to build a profile on the suspect.
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“The FBI is gonna be watching me,” the YouTuber laughed. “That’s the funniest thing about all of this. The FBI is gonna have to watch me to learn about this dude, so I am officially on the FBI’s radar.”
“Not gonna lie — with some of the stuff I’ve done, especially the videos you haven’t seen, I’ve probably been on their radar,” he joked. “But still. It’s crazy.”
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The suspect was detained by police in a neighboring county after he fled the scene. He now faces two federal charges: possessing a firearm as a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
This isn’t the first time a YouTuber has been in the news regarding assassination attempts against Trump.
After the 2024 Presidential candidate appeared on Logan Paul’s IMPAULSIVE podcast in June 2024, the WWE wrestler claimed Trump refused to sell the hat he was wearing during the first attempt on his life on July 13.