Arizona man accused of threatening to kill Trump nabbed after manhunt during former president's border visit
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office confirmed to Fox News Digital that 66-year-old Ronald Lee Syvrud was arrested Thursday. He's accused of threatening to kill former President Trump.
After a manhunt Thursday, Arizona authorities arrested a man they say threatened to kill former President Trump before a planned campaign event in the Copper State.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Digital it took 66-year-old Ronald Lee Syvrud into custody without incident. He was arrested around 2:30 p.m. local time in Cochise County.
Cochise County public information officer Carol Capas told Fox News Digital Syvrud made threatening posts on social media targeting Trump over a period of two days.
The sheriff’s office said earlier that Syvrud has outstanding warrants from the state of Wisconsin for DUI and failure to appear for DUI and from Graham County, Arizona, for hit-and-run and felony failure to register as a sex offender.
Syvrud is listed on the Wisconsin Department of Corrections sex offender registry for "second-degree sexual assault of a child" with an Arizona address.
Court records reviewed by Fox News Digital show Syvrud was most recently charged with assault in June, but that was dropped in July.
The sheriff's office posted on Facebook that Syvrud was being sought "as an investigative lead for threats to kill a presidential candidate" but later confirmed that it was Trump specifically.
Additional charges against Syvrud are pending.
The threat against former President Trump’s life comes after the assassination attempt on the Republican presidential nominee during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month.
The sheriff's office told Fox News Digital there are "no known ties to Pennsylvania, and we are working with local, state and federal agencies."
The former president held his first outdoor rally Wednesday since the assassination attempt, speaking behind a wall of bulletproof glass at a podium in Asheboro, North Carolina.
Trump was visiting the southern border in Cochise County, Arizona, Thursday while continuing to campaign for the November election. He's been spending the week campaigning across battleground states.
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Trump appeared unaware of the manhunt when asked for comment. The former president said he was aware it might be "dangerous" for him to be there, but "I have a job to do."
"I haven't heard about that. They probably want to keep it from me," Trump said, when asked to respond to the manhunt. "Thank you for telling me. Let's get out of here, right now," Trump joked. He again thanked the reporter for telling him.
Trump then pivoted to remarks on the assassination attempt in Butler, saying he has "great respect for the Secret Service" who jumped "on top of me with bullets flying."
"I have great respect. But, no, I haven't heard that," Trump said, referring back to the manhunt. "But I'm not that surprised. And the reason is because I want to do things that are very bad for the bad guys.
Fox News' Alicia Acuna later asked Trump whether the threats against him that sparked a manhunt made him want to change the way he does events.
"I've heard about that. But I have to do my job. It's a job. It's a dangerous job, but I have to do my job," Trump said.
The U.S. Secret Service told Fox News Digital it was aware of and tracking the manhunt in Arizona and referred all further inquiries to the Cochise County Sheriff's Office for further comments, including potential ties to Butler.
