A stunning threat against the lives of Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, has been uncovered and thwarted by police just days after a would-be assassin nearly killed the 45th president. A man from Florida was charged with issuing “written threats of murder” against Trump and Vance, along with their relatives less than a week after the thankfully unsuccessful attempt on Trump’s life during a rally in Butler, Pa.
The Jupiter Police Department revealed that 68-year-old Michael M. Wiseman was detained on Friday on allegations of making written threats to murder. The police claimed that Wiseman had penned threats targeting the Republican candidate for president and the candidate for vice president on his Facebook profile, Fox News reported.
The Jupiter Police Department said in a news release that officers arrested Michael W. Wiseman on charges of written threats to kill. (Palm Beach County Jail)
The law enforcement agency reported receiving warnings about the dangers, which involved physical injury, from several individuals within the area. Jupiter, Florida, is roughly 20 miles, or a 30-minute journey, to the north of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach. “JPD coordinated the investigation with the United States Secret Service and the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office,” the department said. “JPD officers took Wiseman into custody without incident.”
New footage obtained by Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 provides insights into the actions of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks before the attack. The video, captured by an anonymous individual initially intent on recording the crowd size, shows Crooks in the area an hour before the shooting commenced, offering a crucial piece of evidence for investigators.
The video shows Crooks hanging around a structure just beyond the protected area of the gathering. As the lens moves through the setting, various police cars are observed approaching the structure. When the video turns back to the structure, Crooks is again in view, indicating he had been present in the vicinity for more than an hour prior to the shooting started.
“When I saw the video last night when I was going back through my video clips and saw him, I was chilled to the point where I couldn’t fall asleep right away,” said the individual who recorded the video. “I didn’t sleep well. There’s – there’s something. Something really went wrong with this.”
On Wednesday, Fox News disclosed that the parents are assisting the FBI in their investigation to uncover the reason for the 20-year-old’s fatal gun attack. However, it is unclear what information the parents shared with the police before the incident. The 20-year-old’s family had made urgent requests to local law enforcement to locate their son just moments before he took position on the rooftop with the intention of fatally shooting the former president.
The troubled recent high school grad managed to shoot eight bullets from a top-notch rifle he stole from his father before launching his assassination attempt. The Bureau is also looking into the reason a nearby police officer retreated from Crooks just before the shooting began. Meanwhile, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has stood by the agency’s choice not to station an agent on the roof, where Crooks could see Trump clearly from the stage.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.