Aug. 22 (UPI) — Police in Cochise County, Arizona, have arrested a man for a social media post in which he threatened to ‘kill’ a political candidate during GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump‘s campaign stop near the U.S.-Mexico line Thursday, officials announced.
Police apprehended Ronald Lee Syvrud, 66, of Benson, Ariz., about 2.5 hours north of the Mexican border, without incident Thursday, they said.
While they did not name the candidate Syvrud threatened, it was largely thought to be Trump since he was campaigning near the border. Police said Syvrud was wanted for “suspicious activity,
“Syvrud is being sought as an investigative lead for threats to kill a presidential candidate,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release on Facebook.
“The U.S. Secret Service investigates all threats against our protectees. As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further at this time,” a Secret Service spokesperson said, according to ABC News.
Trump appeared near Arizona’s border with Mexico on Thursday, describing rival Vice President Kamala Harris as a Marxist because of how the White House is dealing with illegal migration.
The event at the Montezuma Pass in Cochise County was billed as “Make America Safe Again.”
“We have a Marxist that is running,” Trump said about Harris’ candidacy. “This country is not ready for a Marxist.”
His hour-long appearance, which wasn’t open to the public, included media, border officials, Conchise County Sheriff Mark Dannells and those whose family members were attacked or murdered by undocumented immigrants.
Trump spoke at an unfinished portion of the border wall.
“It could have been put up in a matter of weeks,” Trump said, describing the barrier as the “Rolls-Royce” of walls.
Instead, he pointed to pieces piled nearby that haven’t been erected.
Trump said that, when he was president, “When you came here illegally you were caught and deported.”
Now he says the situation is different with President Joe Biden and Harris, whom he has falsely labeled as the “border czar.”
“Kamala is always going to have open borders,” Trump said. “She will allow more than 100 million illegal aliens into our country.”
He also said: “When we win in November we will end the Kamala Harris border nightmare once and for all. We will get it back very strong.”
Trump, pointing toward Mexico, said, “There are a lot of rough people on the other side.”
At the event, Trump appeared with people who were allegedly victims of crimes by undocumented immigrants.
That included the family of Rachel Morin, who was raped and murdered in 2023 in Maryland. An immigrant from El Salvador was arrested and charged in the case.
Security was tight for Trump’s trip from Sierra Vista Municipal Airport to the border.
Secret Service agents, Cochise County sheriff officers and other law enforcement officers were stationed along a dirt road leading to the border.
Also on Thursday, authorities in Cochise County continue to seek an Arizona man accused of making threats against Trump, a spokesperson told CNN.
Syvrud threatened to kill Trump in multiple social media posts over the past couple weeks, according to public information officer Carol Capas. She declined to name which platform the threats were made on.
On Friday, Trump will campaign in Glendale, Ariz., at the same venue where Kamala Harris drew a crowd of 15,000 people earlier this month. Trump appeared in Pennsylvania on Monday, Michigan on Tuesday and North Carolina on Wednesday. Trump also will visit Nevada on Friday. They are all considered battleground states.
His running mate, JD Vance, who also spoke at the border recently, will appear with Trump on Friday.
Vance criticized Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, during a campaign event Thursday in Valdosta, Ga.
He noted Walz’s speech Wednesday did not begin until 11:22 p.m. EDT Wednesday, and criticized Harris’ record on several issues.
“I appreciate the Democrats not being able to keep anything on time, because I think by the time that he spoke, everybody in the state of Georgia was already in bed,” Vance said at the campaign event. “If you weren’t asleep at the beginning of the speech, you were sure as hell asleep by the end of the speech.”
Vance said Walz didn’t describe Harris’ accomplishments on cost-of-living issues or making the United States more “peaceful and secure.
“She couldn’t say that, because Kamala Harris has caused the very policies that have made Americans’ lives worse over the last few years,” Vance told reporters.
“Her argument, and the argument of her surrogates, is, ‘We’re going to do things better when I get power.’ She’s had power for three and a half years, and she’s made everything worse.”
Vance said he spoke “very briefly” with Brian Kemp and the Georgia governor is “100 percent” behind the Trump-Vance ticket.
“I read the headlines. Brian Kemp and Donald Trump have had some disagreements. I 100 percent guarantee you that Brian Kemp is behind this ticket. He wants us to win, because he believes the policies of Kamala Harris are disastrous for this country,” Vance said.
Kemp had denied Trump’s request to not certify the state’s election in Georgia in which Biden won by 11,779 votes.