CNN
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An Arizona man wanted for allegedly making threats against former President Donald Trump has been arrested, law enforcement officials said.
Ronald Syvrud, who is accused of making death threats against Trump in several social media posts in recent weeks, was taken into custody in Cochise County on Thursday afternoon, according to county press secretary Carol Capas. Trump was in Cochise County on Thursday to deliver a speech at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office said it was made aware of a threatening message on social media directed at Trump on Tuesday. “This message contained language suggesting physical harm against the candidate,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.
A second social media post containing threats against Trump was found on Wednesday, authorities said. Capas previously declined to say on which platform the threats were made.
The sheriff’s office said “locating this individual was a priority” because Trump was in the area. “The intelligence obtained led to a possible location in the St. David area and multiple units were dispatched there,” the sheriff’s office said.
Syvrud was “taken into custody without incident” and arrested on suspicion of two counts of felony threat related to the social media posts, as well as a warrant from a neighboring county for failure to register as a sex offender, the sheriff’s office said.
The former president’s team was informed by law enforcement about the search for the man before he arrived at the border, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
US Secret Service spokeswoman Alexandria Worley told CNN that the agency is investigating the man. “The US Secret Service investigates all threats against our wards. Because this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further at this time,” Worley said.
The 66-year-old was wanted on multiple warrants stemming from charges of drunken driving, hit-and-run and failure to register as a sex offender, the sheriff’s office said in the Facebook press release. Syvrud is a resident of Benson, Arizona, a city about 50 miles southeast of Tucson, the press release said.
In addition to assisting state and federal law enforcement in securing the area for Trump’s border visit, the sheriff’s office also provided additional investigative resources to search for Syvrud.
When asked about the man who allegedly threatened him during his speech at the border, Trump said he had no knowledge that the Secret Service was investigating the man but was “not particularly surprised.”
“I’ve heard it’s dangerous, but I also have a job to do… I haven’t heard anything about that. They probably want to keep it a secret from me,” Trump said. “I’ve heard that this trip is very unsafe, and there were some people who really didn’t want me to do it.”
The Secret Service has begun increasing Trump’s security staff and plans to surround the former president with bulletproof glass at campaign events after an assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month, a senior official told CNN last week.
Syvrud is being held in custody “pending further court appearances,” the sheriff’s office said. CNN could not immediately locate Syvrud’s attorney.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
