Tension is high for presidential candidate Donald Trump after would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks shot the former president in the air on live television during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
The shocking event left the reputation of the Secret Service in tatters, as the 20-year-old shooter—a sniper killed him about five seconds after the assassination attempt—was perched on a roof with a clear line of sight and no agents to stop him. Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle disgraced herself in the aftermath by saying they had not placed agents on the roof because it was “sloped” and therefore unsafe for men with guns to walk on.
She resigned her job shortly after.
Now, a man has been arrested in Arizona after threatening to kill Trump during his visit to the Grand Canyon state. The Cochise County sheriff’s office arrested 66-year-old Ronald Syvrud on August 22. According to the sheriff’s office, Syvrud posted his threats on social media, though spokeswoman Carol Capas did not reveal which platform he used.
Syvrud was taken just a few hours after local police initiated a manhunt for him after telling the public that was being sought for “threats to kill a presidential candidate.” Syvrud had an outstanding arrest warrant in Wisconsin for drunk driving, but that’s not all. He was also wanted for failing to register as a sex offender, and also for doing a hit-and-run in Arizona.
Police were worried Syvrud would make good on his threats to kill Trump during the candidate’s rally stop in Cochise County, Arizona. During his speech, Trump heavily criticized his Democrat competitor, vice president Kamala Harris, for doing little to stem the millions of illegal immigrants flooding into the U.S. through border states like Arizona.
Though it is not certain, it appears that Syvrud may have been behind the threat that caused the Secret Service to tell Trump that he was not safe as he was standing outside the rally event speaking to a reporter. In video of the exchange, Trump tells a female reporter that law enforcement said that Trump and the reporter were not safe where they were standing and that they needed to move.
