On the heels of an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, another unhinged nutjob just threatened to take out the Republican nominee on the 2024 campaign trail, this time while he was visiting the southern border Thursday.
66-year-old Ronald Lee Syvrud, a convicted child sex offender with a history of hating the Republican Party, is accused of posting about his plans to assassinate Trump.
Authorities in Arizona conducted an extensive manhunt to track down Syvrud, as Trump was set to speak with families whose loved ones were murdered by illegal aliens. Following the multi-day search, Syvrud was taken into custody without incident at approximately 2:30 p.m. local time.
Syvrud, who sometimes operates under the alias "Rudy," has a handful of alias accounts where he expresses his hatred toward Trump and those he sees as "radical right-wingers." Investigative journalist Andy Ngo found Syvrud's various profiles, including his now-scrubbed Facebook page he allegedly used to share his apparent plot to shoot Trump.
"tRump is going through here tomorrow and going to Naco, AZ to the port of entry to Mexico. There's a bar right there called the Gay 90s. Noooo. It's not a gay bar. Dawn and I will be there early. I bought a scope for my 44 revolver. Unlike that dweeb that missed. I won't. Maybe I'm joking," Syvrud wrote, under the alias "Sven Lee," on Wednesday evening. "Or am I. Wink, wink."
Syvrud was particularly upset that the first almost assassin failed to kill Trump. The day after Trump was shot at the Butler rally in Pennsylvania, Syvrud posted, "The shooting was rigged."
"[F]eeling annoyed," Syvrud said, "GIVE THE SHOOTER AN A- FOR EFFORT. WOULD HAVE GOTTEN AN A+ IF HE SUCCEEDED. BTW THE KID WAS A REGISTERED REPUBLICAN GOT TO LOVE IT."
In June, Syvrud shared an anti-Trump post, captioned "What Would Jesus Do?" An attached image depicted Jesus Christ drowning Trump in a body of water.
Syvrud also called Trump a child molester who should be "put to sleep," though he himself is a convicted pedophile.
Ngo Exclusive: Ronald Syvrud, a registered s—x offender wanted currently for allegedly posting about plans to assassinate Trump in Arizona, has a long history of anti-Trump posts.
— Andy Ngo 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 22, 2024
Syvrud was particularly upset that the Pennsylvania shooter failed to kill Trump.
He called… pic.twitter.com/kdI6fonURD
On X, posting as "Rudy Lee," Syvrud said Trump supporters were drinking the "Donny 'Jim Jones' tRump" "orange koolade [sic]."
Ngo exclusive: I found the X account belonging to the sex offender at the center of a manhunt in Arizona over alleged plans to assassinate Donald Trump.
— Andy Ngo 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 22, 2024
Using the known alias "Rudy Lee," Ronald Syvrud often posted on X about his dislike of Trump and the political right. https://t.co/iqHpR1Z2s6 pic.twitter.com/5aladVDJxD
Trump spoke as scheduled despite the manhunt being actively underway, and Syvrud wasn't captured until hours after Trump's speech.
During a news conference in the desert, Trump indicated he wasn't made aware of the assassination threat when Daily Mail asked about his response and whether he felt he was in danger.
"I haven't heard about that. They probably want to keep it from me. Thank you for telling me. Let's get out of here right now!" Trump, appearing unbothered, joked. Noting it might be "dangerous" for him to be there, Trump declared, "But I have a job to do."
"The U.S. Secret Service investigates all threats against our protectees," the Secret Service said in a press statement. "As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further at this time."
At the open-venue event, Trump abruptly ended an interview with NewsNation, telling network correspondent Ali Bradley, "We're in danger standing here talking." Trump, cutting the conversation short, cited safety concerns after being alerted by his security detail that they're not safe there. "They don't want me standing here," Trump said while he was whisked away. "They don't want you standing here either."
Trump cuts interview with @NewsNation @AliBradleyTV short citing safety concerns.
— Libbey Dean (@LibbeyDean_) August 22, 2024
“We're in danger standing here talking, so let's not talk any longer,” said Trump. "No, I know about it, but they don't want me standing here. They don't want you standing here either.“ pic.twitter.com/2S6Mb8ZNqd
According to the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, local law enforcement learned as early as Tuesday that a male suspect was writing threatening messages on social media targeted toward Trump.
Syvrud was identified, and authorities discovered that he was wanted on several outstanding warrants, including a DUI-related one out of the state of Wisconsin and another from Graham County, Arizona, for a hit-and-run.
A wanted-person flyer was then disseminated to the public in an attempt to locate Syvrud.
#BREAKING Law enforcement in Cochise County are looking for Ronald Syrvud after he made threats to kill President Trump. Syrvud lives in the county and is wanted for failing to register as a sex offender—I am told that when law enforcement went to get him last night, they… pic.twitter.com/OB0EV3C9EF
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) August 22, 2024
On Wednesday, Syvrud allegedly sent a second post, again containing threats against Trump.
Syvrud was ultimately nabbed by multiple units Thursday afternoon in the St. David area. Bradley reports that Syvrud was apprehended in a remote area around an RV.
Syvrud was subsequently booked into Cochise County Jail on a felony warrant from nearby Graham County for failing to register as a sex offender and two counts of threatening for the Trump case.
Syvrud remains behind bars pending court adjudication.
Cochise County Sheriff's Office told Fox News there are "no known ties to Pennsylvania, and we are working with local, state and federal agencies." A public information officer with the sheriff's office told Townhall that initial incident reports take 14 days to be filed.
Late last year, Syvrud pled guilty in Graham County to felony failure to register as a sex offender. Minutes from Syvrud's sentencing hearing in December 2023 show that he avoided jail time in a plea agreement. Although the prosecution argued for stronger sentencing than the pre-sentence report recommended, Judge Travis W. Ragland only placed Syvrud on three years of probation and suspended the remainder of his 180-day jail sentence.
Syvrud, the NEW alleged Trump would-be assassin, appears to have avoided jail time in a December 2023 plea agreement for failing to register as a sex offender in Arizona, according to court documents I've obtained.
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) August 22, 2024
It looks like Syvrud was placed on probation instead, with his… pic.twitter.com/Ws5H3IuIzY
Syvrud was most recently charged with assault in June, but that was dropped in July, reports Fox News.
In 2001, the serial felon, then living in Madison, Wisconsin, was convicted of second-degree sexual assault of a child and exposing a child to harmful material (sale), according to court records reviewed by Townhall. Syvrud is on Wisconsin's sex offender registry for life, the state's Department of Corrections says.
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