Authorities in Arizona have launched an urgent search for a suspect who allegedly threatened to shoot former President Donald Trump during a trip to the border on Thursday.
Ronald Lee Syrvud, 66, is wanted in connection with an alleged assassination plot planned for Trump’s visit to a vulnerable stretch of the southern border in Cochise County, Arizona.
This comes six weeks after an assassination attempt on Trump, in which a bullet hit the former president in the ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Police said Syrvud has several other outstanding warrants for separate charges, including driving under the influence and failing to appear in court in Wisconsin, and failure to register as a sex offender and felony hit-and-run in Arizona.
Arizona authorities are looking for Ronald Lee Syrvud, 66, in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Donald Trump
It comes six weeks after an assassination attempt on Trump, in which a bullet grazed the former president’s ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The assassination attempt on Trump was reportedly aimed at his trip to the border with Sierra Vista, a place his campaign has already traveled to.
Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, visited Sierra Vista three weeks ago, where he highlighted security concerns in the mountainous region, calling it a “smugglers’ paradise.”
Arizona officials said they believe Syrvud is on the loose in the border region and are urgently trying to locate him before Trump’s visit.
Syrvud is described as 6’11” tall, 220 lbs., and wearing glasses. His last known address is in Benson, Arizona.
Ahead of his trip to the area, Trump said Wednesday on Truth Social that he would address “the plague of immigration crime that so-called border czar Comrade Kamala Harris has unleashed on the United States.”
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment, and it is not immediately clear whether the campaign plans to cancel or postpone the trip to the border.
The alleged plot is said to have taken place in Sierra Vista, Arizona, where Trump’s running mate JD Vance toured just three weeks ago (pictured from the trip)
On the trip to the border, Vance highlighted security concerns around the area where the alleged plot on Trump’s life was said to have been planned, calling the region a “smugglers’ paradise.”
When Vance visited Sierra Vista three weeks ago, he criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her a “failed border czar” and blaming her for the migration crisis.
The Ohio senator also highlighted security concerns in the “smugglers’ paradise” surrounding the area where the alleged plot on Trump’s life was said to have been planned.
The area poses a number of security issues as it is largely mountainous and has treacherous terrain, allowing smugglers and cartel traffickers to use strategic points to avoid detection.
“It’s unbelievable what we’re allowing to happen at the southern border, and it’s because Kamala Harris refuses to do her job,” Vance said at the time.