Southern Arizona man arrested for alleged threats against Trump as candidate visits border

BISBEE, Ariz. (AP) — A southern Arizona man was arrested for allegedly making death threats against Donald Trump on social media, authorities said Thursday, the same day the Republican former president and 2024 candidate was in the area to visit the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as Ronald Lee Syrvud, 66, from the city of Benson. It’s in the same county as the border area that Trump was visiting in the afternoon and that his running mate Sen. JD Vance went to in recent weeks.

The sheriff’s office said Syrvud arrested at around 2:30 p.m. It did not describe the alleged threats or provide other details on the arrest.

An online search failed to turn up any social media accounts in Syrvud’s name or any contact information for him.

The sheriff’s office said Syrvud was also wanted on several outstanding warrants in Wisconsin for driving under the influence and failure to appear in court, as well as a felony hit and run charge in Graham County, Arizona, and failure to register as a sex offender in Coconino County, Arizona.

Trump survived an assassination attempt July 13. This Wednesday, at his first outdoor rally since the attempt, he spoke from behind bulletproof glass in North Carolina at an event focused on national security.