WASHINGTON:
An Arizona man, Ronald Lee Syvrud, 66, was arrested on Thursday after threatening to kill former President Donald Trump via social media, according to the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office statement on Friday.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, was in Cochise County that day, visiting the US-Mexico border as part of his campaign.
Syvrud, who had multiple outstanding warrants in Wisconsin, was taken into custody on Thursday afternoon. He was booked into the Cochise County Jail on a felony warrant from Graham County, Arizona, for failing to register as a sex offender, along with two counts of making threats in this case. He remains in custody pending further legal proceedings.
Read: Multiple Secret Service agents placed on leave after assassination attempt on Donald Trump
When asked about the threat, Trump said, “I am not that surprised… because I want to do things that are very bad for the bad guys.” This incident is part of a growing number of threats against candidates ahead of the 5 November general election.
In August, a Virginia man was charged with threatening Vice President Kamala Harris, and in December, a New Hampshire man was arrested for threatening Republican presidential candidates.
In July, Trump survived an assassination attempt in which he was shot in the ear, leaving two others injured and one person dead.
The US Secret Service faced heavy criticism following the attack, leading to the resignation of its director. Despite the new threats, Trump expressed his “great respect” for the Secret Service, acknowledging their mistakes but stating that they will learn from them.
