Routh wanted to create a foreign force to protect Taiwan. But some listed volunteers said they'd never heard of him

 Ryan Routh had repeatedly called for bolstering Taiwan’s defenses against China and hoped to set up a foreign legion akin to that in Ukraine. 

The man, who was detained in connection with an apparent attempt to assassinate former president Donald Trump on Sunday, is listed as an “International Volunteer Center Coordinator” on a website named Taiwan Foreign Legion. 

The group claims it is “recruiting former military and civilians from around the world” willing to defend Taiwan in the event of a war with China. 

CNN reached out to over a dozen people listed as “supporters” on the group’s website. But several said they had not heard of the group or its activities, and some had never heard of Routh.  

All claimed they did not know how their names and contact information had been shared on the pro-Taiwan website. 

Unlike Ukraine, Taiwan does not have an official foreign legion. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry declined to comment on Routh. 

China’s ruling Communist Party says Taiwan is part of its territory, despite never having controlled it, and has vowed to take the island by force if necessary.

The US is bound by law to supply the self-governing island with weapons to defend itself, and support for Taiwan is a rare issue of broadly bipartisan consensus in Washington.