The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office is urgently searching for 66-year-old Ronald Lee Syrvud from Benson, Arizona, who is accused of threatening to kill former President Donald Trump. Syrvud allegedly intended to shoot Trump during his visit to a section of the southern border on Thursday. The alarming development follows a recent assassination attempt on Trump, in which he narrowly avoided injury when a bullet grazed his ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, just six weeks ago.
Syrvud, who is 6 feet tall and weighs approximately 220 pounds, has a history with the law beyond the recent threat against Trump. He is wanted for several outstanding warrants, including charges in Wisconsin for DUI, failing to appear in court, and a hit-and-run. Additionally, he has not registered as a sex offender in Graham County, Arizona, and is under an absconder hold for this lapse, according to KOLD 13 News. As authorities escalate their search, the public is advised to remain vigilant. The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office has classified Syrvud as a significant public safety risk
Sheriff Mark Dannels of Cochise County has ramped up security measures in response to the threat against former President Trump. In a statement to DailyMail.com, Sheriff Dannels emphasized the need for heightened security, given the event’s open venue location, to ensure safety and address potential risks effectively.
“We have zero tolerance for any kind of threats or intents of violence, so we’ll find him. He’ll go to jail,” said Dannels. “He’s a registered sex offender here in Cochise County, and we were looking for him. He’s out of compliance as part of his violations. So we’re looking for him on that. We’re going to arrest him on that. But also the fact … his pulse was obviously directed toward this event. So we want to talk to him about that.”
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), who has been briefed on the investigation into the assassination attempt against Trump, indicated that he has reason to believe 20-year-old Thomas Crooks may not have been the only threat present on that day.
Investigations by the FBI, Secret Service, and a bipartisan U.S. House committee have examined the background of Thomas Crooks, a recent high school graduate whose friends and former classmates describe him as deeply skeptical of the American political system. Although he was a registered Republican, Crooks recently donated to a progressive group supporting President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. Waltz, one of 12 lawmakers on the House committee receiving classified briefings as the search for a motive continues, has expressed a belief that Crooks may not have acted alone.
“I don’t understand, and I don’t have any answers yet to help me understand how the [Secret] Service and DHS came out so quickly and said – and I think the FBI as well, but I’ll have to check that – and said, he operated alone,” Waltz said in an interview with the Daily Mail at Trump Tower in Chicago on Wednesday. “How do you know that mere days into your investigation? You can’t tell us his motive, but you could tell us he operated alone? You can’t get into these encrypted overseas accounts, but you can tell us he acted alone? So, I don’t buy that yet.”
On July 13th, Crooks was shot and killed by a counter-sniper after he opened fire at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, narrowly missing a kill shot with his high-powered AR-15 scoped rifle. Investigators discovered an explosives-laden vehicle near the rally site and a remote detonator on Crooks’s body, suggesting he intended to use the vehicle as a distraction. Further developments indicate that an unexpected encounter with a local officer may have prompted Crooks to hasten his plan, compromising his aim for a perfect shot and instead grazing the former president’s right ear.
“I don’t know of many 19-year-old kids who could make multiple IEDs with a remote detonator on their own,” Waltz, an Army Green Beret and still-serving officer with multiple combat tours, continued. “Why didn’t that get picked up if he’s searching that online or buying literature on how to do that? The more we get into it, the more questions I have.”
The Florida lawmaker announced that he will soon participate in another classified briefing with the FBI. However, he voiced doubt that it would provide additional insights into how Crooks might have acted alone. Shortly after the attack, reports emerged about a potential assassination plot against Trump involving Iran, which could be connected to Crooks. “It’s really what’s coming out around it that is so disturbing,” Waltz said. “And for me, the thing that’s most disturbing is that we have ongoing plots from Iran to take out a former president, leading candidate, and that a Pakistani national was just arrested after making a down payment for hitmen, and it’s barely even being covered in the news.”