An Arizona man was taken into custody by US police after making threats on social media to assassinate Republican presidential contender and former president Donald Trump.
According to the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, the arrest took place on Thursday, August 22, the news agency said on Saturday. On Thursday, as part of his campaign, Trump stopped by the US border with Mexico in Cochise County.
The sheriff’s office said that the man, Ronald Lee Syvrud, 66, had several outstanding warrants from Wisconsin.
Afterwards, Syvrud was taken into custody by the Cochise County Jail, according to the office, on a felony warrant issued by Graham County, Arizona, for “failure to register as a sex offender and two counts of threatening for this case.”
According to Reuters, the 66-year-old was being held in custody until more court decisions were made.
When questioned about Syvrud’s threat, Trump responded, “I am not that surprised (by the threat), and the reason is because I want to do things that are very bad for the bad guys.”
This threat was made more than a month after on July 13, when Trump escaped an attempted assassination. Trump sustained a right ear injury but was not gravely hurt. Thomas Crooks, the gunman, was shot and killed by Secret Service personnel.
Trump stated on Thursday that he had the utmost regard for the Secret Service and “the job they do,” even in light of the threats on Arizona and the attempted assassination in July. He also added that the agency made mistakes but would eventually learn from them.
In the run-up to the presidential election on November 5, numerous contenders have received threats.
A Virginia man was accused of threatening Kamala Harris, the vice president and current Democratic presidential candidate, at the beginning of August.
A New Hampshire man was taken into custody in December of last year after making threats to murder Republican presidential contenders.
