The parents of a man arrested in Arizona for expressing a desire to assassinate Donald Trump have spoken out and said their son was merely trying to attract attention. Police detained 66-year-old Ronald Syvrud on the day that Trump and running mate JD Vance visited the Grand Canyon State after he reportedly posted death threats online.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s office wrote on its Facebook page that the threats “indicated bodily harm to the candidate.” Media reports suggest that Syvrud also had outstanding arrest warrants for failure to appear on DUI charges and failure to register as a sex offender. He was also implicated in an Arizona hit-and-run.
Mr. Syvrud’s parents told reporters that their son detests Donald Trump but would never have taken such drastic action as to try to attack him. His 89-year-old mother, Phyllis, indicated that Ronald spiraled into depression and alcoholism after his brother’s death in 2022. “He drank more and more. He was getting angrier and angrier,” she added.
Lee Syvrud, Ronald’s 92-year-old father, interjected and said his son’s hatred of Trump is entirely justified because the former President said he wants to be a dictator. Mr. Syvrud explained that he had four brothers who fought the Nazis in World War Two, and he doesn’t “want another Hitler.” He added that he had repeatedly told his son that the correct way to express his disgust with the former President was to go out and vote for Kamala Harris in November.
When asked about the threats and Ronald Syvrud’s arrest, Mr. Trump said he was not surprised that he upsets people because he does things that are “very bad for the bad guys.”
The incident is among several to plague the 2024 Presidential election, including the near assassination of Mr. Trump in Pennsylvania. In August, police in Virginia arrested a man for pledging to kill Vice President Harris, and in New Hampshire last December, a man was detained for threatening unspecified Republican Presidential contenders.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has praised the US Secret Service, which attracted fierce criticism for failing to protect him from the Pennsylvania shooter. He said he greatly respects the Service and is confident it will learn from any mistakes.
