Arizona Man Arrested for Alleged Threats to Trump’s Life

An Arizona man was detained after allegedly making multiple threats on social media to kill former President Donald Trump.

Ronald Syvrud, 66, allegedly made these threats over the course of the last few weeks, according to a spokesperson from Cochise County who spoke with CNN. However, the spokesperson did not disclose which social media platform Syvrud used to post these threats.

The resident of Benson, Arizona, has several outstanding charges against him, including DUI violations, a felony hit and run, and failure to register as a sex offender. The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office publicized on Facebook that Syvrud was being sought not only for his previous offenses but also as an “investigative lead for threats to kill a presidential candidate.”

On Thursday, authorities confirmed that Syvrud was taken into custody without incident in Cochise County.

Coincidentally, Trump was visiting the US-Mexico border in the same county to speak on immigration issues. During his speech at the border, he was asked about the individual who made threats against him. While Trump was not aware that the Secret Service was investigating Syvrud, he expressed that he was “not that surprised.”

“I’ve heard it’s dangerous, but I also have a job to do… I haven’t heard about that. They probably want to keep it from me,” he said, adding that he was informed about safety issues regarding his trip. “I have heard it was very unsafe to make this trip; there were some people that really didn’t want me to make it,” he added.

This arrest follows closely on the heels of an assassination attempt on Trump approximately six weeks earlier in Butler, Pennsylvania. During that incident, a bullet grazed Trump’s ear, fired by gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, who is 20 years old. The incident resulted in one rally attendee’s death and two others injured before Secret Service snipers killed Crooks.

Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels highlighted the need for increased security prior to Trump’s speech and noted the nature of the venue as “open.” In his remarks, Dannels stated, “We have zero tolerance for any kind of threats or intents of violence, so we’ll find him. He’ll go to jail.” He added that Syvrud’s failure to comply with sex offender registration laws made him a priority in their search.

“We’re going to arrest him on that,” Dannels remarked. “But also the fact that his focus was obviously directed toward this event. So we want to talk to him about that.”

Trump arrived at the southern border shortly after noon on Thursday, engaging with local officials near the border wall. His team was made aware of Syvrud’s search prior to his arrival, according to CNN. The US Secret Service took the matter seriously, conducting an investigation into the suspect.

During the speech, Trump did not shy away from directing criticism towards President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He called Harris a “Marxist” and made fallacious claims about her attitude towards border security, asserting she desired “open borders.”

The former president spoke at a location where the border wall remains incomplete, pointing out sections of the wall that had been piled up nearby. Trump remarked, “It could have been put up in a matter of weeks,” adding that it was the “Rolls-Royce” of walls.