(CHICAGO) — Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger is in a unique position as a Republican: On Thursday, he is set to deliver a prime-time speech on the final day of the Democratic National Convention, speaking in support of Vice President Kamala Harris before she accepts her party’s nomination for president.
Kinzinger, who retired from the House in 2023, has been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump over the years, and although he describes himself as a “proud conservative,” he endorsed then-candidate Joe Biden for reelection in June.
“Donald Trump poses a direct threat to every fundamental American value,” Kinzinger said in his Biden endorsement video, mentioning Trump’s role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
The former Illinois congressman sat on the House’s Jan. 6 select committee that investigated the attack. He was also one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 attack.
“To every American of every political party, and those of none: I say now is not the time to watch quietly as Donald Trump threatens the future of America,” Kinzinger said in support of the Democratic ticket.
Since Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee, Kinzinger has supported the vice president, saying she stands for democracy.
Kinzinger’s speech will round out a slate of Republicans who have spoken at the DNC this week, including former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, former Trump White House national security official Olivia Troye and former Trump White House press secretary Stephania Grisham.
In what’s expected to be a close contest between Harris and Trump in November, the Harris campaign is leaving no stone unturned, targeting Republicans and independents in their messaging and outreach.
GOP speakers at the DNC appear to be doing the same.
“The sometimes awkward alliance between the left, center, and sane right will prevail! We’re not going back,” Kinzinger posted to X on Wednesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris having worked there in college has repeatedly been brought up by speakers at the Democratic National Convention — almost as if it’s on a menu — and her campaign is using it as a symbolic, shorthand way of connecting her experience with that of working-class Americans.
Harris has noted in the past and now in campaign ads that she worked a summer job at McDonald’s in her late teens, between her freshman and sophomore years at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Her early job is a common one among Americans, according to data from the chain which says one out of every eight Americans has worked at McDonald’s.
The giant burger chain did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Harris and Walz have pointed out that their working-class roots are in sharp contrast to former President Donald Trump’s much wealthier upbringing. Walz took a dig at a campaign event a few weeks ago, claiming that Trump wouldn’t be able to cut it as a fast-food worker.
“He couldn’t run that damn McFlurry machine if it cost him anything,” he said.
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett took a jab at the DNC.
“Let’s compare their resumes, shall we?,” she said. “One candidate worked at McDonald’s while she was in college at an HBCU, [Howard University]. The other was born with the silver spoon in his mouth and helped his daddy in the family business.”
The McDonald’s connection has extended to second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who not only worked there but also was named employee of the month, which he proudly recounted to the convention crowd, telling how the experience had helped shape his career.
“I still have the framed picture which you just saw, and there was a ring, golden arches and all. And then, I waited tables, parked cars. I was working full-time, so I could afford to go to college part-time. And thanks to partial scholarships, student loans, and a little help from my dad, I got myself through law school, and I got my first job as a lawyer,” he said.
Harris’ time behind the fast-food counter has even impressed one of the most famous — and notoriously frequent — McDonald’s customers, former President Bill Clinton, mocked in “SNL” skits as stopping there while jogging in Washington and eating other customers’ fries.
“She greeted every person with that thousand-watt smile and said, ‘How can I help you?’ Now she’s at the pinnacle of power and she’s still asking, ‘How can I help you?'” Clinton said at the DNC Wednesday night.
“I’ll be so happy when she actually enters the White House as president because she will break my record as the president who spent the most time at McDonald’s,” he joked.
It’s unclear whether Harris herself will bring up her McDonald’s experience during her nomination acceptance speech on Thursday night, but it could very well become something she can say she has in common with working-class voters on the campaign trail.
(CHICAGO) — The final day of the Democratic National Convention wraps up with Kamala Harris’ big moment: her acceptance speech in which she gets to tell her story to the millions of Americans watching.
Her campaign says, in addition to describing her middle-class upbringing, she will continue to stress optimism and patriotism — the “politics of joy” — the overall themes we’ve heard throughout the gathering.
Here’s how the news is developing:
100,000 balloons ready to end the night: Source
Convention organizers have 100,000 balloons ready to drop at the end of the evening, according to a source with knowledge.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
4th night of the DNC underway
The fourth and final night of the DNC is officially underway.
The theme of the night is “For our future” and will feature a keynote address from Vice President Kamala Harris as she accepts the party’s nominee for president.
Emhoff says Harris remains focused on issues ahead of ‘her big moment’
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff said Vice President Kamala Harris remains focused on the issues even “while she is preparing for her big moment tonight.”
“She has been in the Oval Office with the president on all of these major issues. She’s been in the Situation Room on all these major issues, just with what’s happening now,” he said Thursday at an event about combating antisemitism hosted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
“She’s still working on these issues while she is preparing for her big moment tonight. That’s what leaders do,” he continued.
Harris has spent the day continuing to review her speech and tweaking it by hand as she prepares to deliver what will be the most important remarks of her political life, a personal familiar with the preparation told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Mary Bruce
Harris, Emhoff wish each other happy 10th anniversary
Vice President Kamala Harris wished her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff a happy anniversary on Thursday ahead of her acceptance speech at the DNC. The couple are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.
“To the best partner I could ask for: Happy anniversary, Dougie,” Harris posted on social media, with a picture of the two visiting campaign headquarters in Wilmington the day after she announced her candidacy.
Earlier Thursday, Emhoff did the same, posting a slideshow of photos of himself and Harris.
“Ten years of marriage, forever to go,” Emhoff wrote. “Happy anniversary, @WRQ11HGNB. I love you.”
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow
Meet the oldest DNC delegate, Angie Gialloreto
Angie Gialloreto, 95, has attended every Democratic National Convention since 1976, when Jimmy Carter was on the ticket.
Since the 99-year-old former president could not attend this year’s DNC due to his health issues, Gialloreto is the oldest delegate to travel to Chicago, where she will watch Harris accept her party’s nomination.
The Pennsylvania native told ABC News the possibility that Harris could become the first woman to serve as president was a long time coming because women “have taken a back seat many years and now we’ll have a leader.”
When asked how she would celebrate if Harris ends up victorious during the November general election against Donald Trump, Gialloreto said she will focus on “getting ready for the next election of local candidates.”
-ABC News’ Morgan Gstalter
Walz meets with former students in Chicago
The morning after accepting his party’s nomination for vice president, Walz gathered in Chicago with former staff, family, friends and former students — including some of the football players who appeared on-stage Wednesday night at the United Center.
ABC News spotted Walz at a Chicago hotel on Thursday morning.
During that meeting, he mingled with several of his former Mankato West High School students over an informal breakfast, according to a source familiar with Walz’s movements. Some of those who met with Walz at the hotel were observed by ABC News donning “Harris-Walz Alumni” T-shirts.
Earlier in the day, Walz posted a video on X showing him hug and greet the students backstage at the convention.
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman, Allison Pecorin and MaryAlice Parks
How Harris prepares for big speeches
Former campaign managers and senior staffers who worked Harris through the years shed light on how she prepares for big speeches.
They said she’s a trial lawyer at her core, and so preparation was key as well as being ready for audience reactions.
In crafting a speech, she would start with themes, outline and then focus in on what she wanted to say well in advance. She would be intimately involved in every speech, making edits and collaborating with those around her.
They said like most people she gets nervous, but would relax, review the remarks, save her voice, conserve energy and rest up.
-ABC News’ Zohreen Shah
What some of Chicago’s young voters think about the 2024 election
Three young voters — one liberal, one moderate and one conservative — discussed their thoughts on the 2024 election while in Chicago for the DNC.
-538’s Nathaniel Rakich
Trump to do live play-by-play of Harris’ speech on Truth Social
Former President Donald Trump said he will do a “LIVE PLAY BY PLAY on TRUTH Social” of Vice President Kamala Harris’s speech at the DNC Thursday night.
“We will start at 10 P.M., Eastern, and be covering and commenting on some of the earlier Speeches made, prior to hers,” Trump posted on his social media platform before going on to slam the dropout of President Joe Biden and saying he was going to “expose” Harris’ policies.
-ABC News Lalee Ibssa
Harris campaign dodges question on why there isn’t a Palestinian speaker at DNC
The Harris campaign at a briefing Thursday morning dodged a question from ABC News on why there isn’t a Palestinian speaker at the convention and why simply saying former President Donald Trump would be worse for Arab-Americans is not the campaign taking their votes for granted.
“No, we’re absolutely not taking their votes for granted,” campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said. “I think, as it relates to uncommitted delegates at this convention, we’re proud, glad that they are here. We’ve worked to engage them throughout the convention.”
Tyler noted a panel conversation that was held with members of the uncommitted movement and said Harris recently engaged with the movement’s leadership in Michigan. He also emphasized that the vice president is working toward a resolution to the Israel-Hamas conflict “with a permanent cease-fire that allows Israel to fully secure itself, that fully continues and make sure that we have full humanitarian aid, but also make sure that Gazans are able to peacefully live and prosper in Gaza.”
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
12:58 PM EDT Gun control to be featured ahead of Harris’ remarks
Before Vice President Kamala Harris takes center stage Thursday night, gun violence survivors and gun safety advocates will address the DNC, according to Harris-Walz campaign spokesman Michael Tyler.
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, Rep. Maxwell Frost and the “Tennessee Three” — state Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, are also expected to speak.
Tyler told reporters Govs. Gretchen Whitmer and Roy Cooper, Sens. Mark Kelly and Elizabeth Warren, and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger — a member of Jan 6. select committee — will give remarks too.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
10:11 AM EDT Kamala Harris to tell her personal story in acceptance speech
The fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention is leading up to a dramatic finale: Kamala Harris giving her acceptance speech and getting to tell her personal story — in her own words — to an audience of millions.
She’s expected talk about a middle-class upbringing with a working mother. She will continue to stress the themes we’ve heard from speakers throughout the convention: optimism and patriotism — the “politics of joy” — drawing a contrast, her campaign says, with the “dark” vision of Donald Trump.
(NEW YORK) — The largest police force in the nation is planning to use a fleet of autonomous drones to combat an alarming surge in robberies and assaults in Central Park, the world’s most iconic public green space.
The New York Police Department has already flooded the sprawling park, one of the most popular tourist sites in America, with hundreds of officers patrolling on foot, bike and horseback since violent crime began to skyrocket this summer.
“We’ve got the autonomous drones coming by the end of the month. There are over 800 acres in this park. It’s going to allow us to cover a big territory very quickly and also allow us to get images and video in places where we don’t have cameras,” Tarik Sheppard, the NYPD deputy commissioner for public information, said during a recent news conference in Central Park.
According to the crime statistics through Aug. 18, there have been 33 robberies in Central Park so far in 2024, a 154% increase from this time last year. There have also been 11 felony assaults in the park this year, a 57% increase from 2023.
The jump in Central Park crime comes even as overall violent crime in the city of roughly 8.8 million people is down 2.49% from last year, according to NYPD citywide crime statistics.
‘Most iconic park in the world’
“This is the most iconic park in the world, one of the most iconic locations in the world. There are no secrets being kept here. Crime is up in this park for the year, specifically robberies. Robberies are the name of the game here,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a news conference last week.
Chell said the robberies were usually occurring between the hours of 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. He said many of the robberies are being committed by juveniles, some as young as 11 years old, who on several occasions have swarmed victims in mobs sometimes as large as a dozen perpetrators.
“In this particular crime pattern, if you will, that’s happening here at the southern end, from 59th to 65th [streets] on both sides of the park involve young groups of kids,” Chell said.
On June 30, two men, ages 20 and 21, were accosted in the park by a group of people who forced them to hand over their backpacks, wallets and headphones, according to police. On Aug. 1, a roving group of bandits surrounded two men sitting on a bench near Wollman Rink near the southern part of the park and robbed them at knifepoint, police said.
On Aug. 13, back-to-back robberies occurred at the southern end of the park. One of the robberies occurred about 10 p.m. when two men were confronted on the west side of the park by two assailants who forcibly snatched their chains, vape pens and one of their hats. The second robbery unfolded three hours later on the east side of the park when victims — ages 35, 21, and 15 — were approached by three teenagers who stole their AirPods and a necklace from one of them, according to police.
Among the assaults that have recently occurred, a 42-year-old man was repeatedly slashed with knives on July 6 at 9:45 a.m. by two strangers he got into an argument with, police said. An 82-year-old woman was accosted on Aug. 14 by a man in his 30s, who pushed her near the Central Park tennis court, causing her to suffer minor injuries, according to police.
11-year-old perpetrator
Chell said police have made several arrests in the crime spree, including one alleged perpetrator just 11 years old.
“The 11-year-old is on video using credit cards stolen from robberies where? In Central Park,” Chell said. “So, this is what we’re combatting.”
Chell said the 11-year-old assailant and several other alleged teenage perpetrators arrested recently are among the migrants who have been pouring into the city.
But not all of the crimes have been the work of roving groups of criminals.
On June 24, a 21-year-old woman sunbathing at 1:30 p.m. in the Great Hill section of the park was attacked by a man who exposed himself and attempted to sexually assault her, police said. The victim managed to fight off the attacker who ran from the scene. A 43-year-old man, whom police identified as Jermaine Longmire, was arrested in the crime and charged with attempted rape and sexual abuse, according to police.
Longmire has pleaded not guilty to the charges and, according to online records, remains locked up at Rikers Island jail.
Chell said the NYPD has a “mandate” to keep park visitors safe.
“We’ll be deploying numerous resources throughout the days, throughout the weeks until we take care of this problem from mounted, to bike patrol, to foot patrol, to cars in the street to drones,” Chell said.
(NEW YORK) — A Staten Island man who ran a large-scale marijuana smuggling operation and whose 10-year federal prison sentence was commuted by then-President Donald Trump has been arrested for domestic assault in Atlantic Beach.
Jonathan Braun, 41, is charged with punching his father-in-law Tuesday after the elderly man came to the assistance of Braun’s wife, whom he was chasing after an argument, according to prosecutors.
Braun pleaded not guilty. The judge released him on his own recognizance over the objection of the Nassau County District Attorney’s office, which requested bail.
At the time Trump granted Braun clemency, on his last day in office, the White House said Braun “will seek employment to support his wife and children.” Braun has assaulted his wife numerous times since his release, according to court records.
Braun also has a history of violence and threats.
At the time of his clemency, Braun still faced investigations related to his role in an operation that made predatory loans to small-business owners.
According to a lawsuit by the New York attorney general’s office, Braun called business owners and insulted, swore at and bullied them, demanding payment and making threats.
“You have no idea what I’m going to do,” the lawsuit quoted Braun as allegedly saying. “I will take your daughters from you.”
Braun also threatened that he would come to one merchant’s synagogue in Brooklyn and physically beat him and “publicly embarrass him,” stating, “I am going to make you bleed.”
He threatened another, “Be thankful you’re not in New York, because your family would find you floating in the Hudson,” according to the lawsuit.
Braun was granted clemency, along with dozens of others, on Jan. 19, 2021, his last day in office before Joe Biden took over as president.
(FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.) — An 8-year-old boy who went missing at Arizona’s Lava River Cave on Wednesday night has been found alive and is being evaluated.
Tzion Maron was reported missing at around 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday after he became separated from his family at the cave, located near Flagstaff, according to the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office.
Before he went missing, the boy was last seen near the cave entrance, according to officials.
His family reported the boy missing after they were unable to find him in the immediate area, the sheriff’s office said.
Patrol deputies and multiple search and rescue teams spent the night and morning scouring the area, before the child was found Thursday afternoon. Officials said it was raining overnight in the area.
The boy was described as just over 4 feet tall and about 50 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray shirt with blue stripes, navy blue pants and sneakers.
The Lava River Cave is a mile-long lava tube cave formed around 700,000 years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service.
The cave can be as cool as 42 degrees, even in the summer, and there may be some ice inside, the Forest Service said. Rocks in the cave can also be “sharp and slippery” and visitors are told to bring two or three sources of light as it can be “very dark one mile from the nearest light source,” according to the USDA.
(NEW YORK) — Two burglars swiped memorabilia from St. John’s University men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino’s office on the New York City campus, according to police.
Items including a basketball and bullhorn were taken during the break-in Tuesday evening in Queens, according to police.
The suspects fled on a moped, the NYPD said.
The unidentified suspects remain at large. Both were captured in footage from a university camera that was released by police. One appeared to be holding a bullhorn and the other a small sword in the footage.
Pitino said on social media that he was “really upset” about the burglary and was “livid” over the theft of a vintage bottle of wine — a 1985 6L Petrus Pomerol, which sells for tens of thousands of dollars on some collectible wine sites — though later clarified that he was joking.
“I would never keep that on my desk! Saving that one in a wine cellar to open after the Johnnies go to the final four!” he said on X.
The incident occurred at approximately 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to St. John’s spokesperson Brian Browne.
“Property was stolen from an office in the Athletics Department,” Browne said in a statement. “The University shared surveillance footage with the NYPD and is assisting in the ongoing investigation.”
Pitino has served as the coach of the Big East team since 2023. He gained stardom coaching at the University of Kentucky, winning a national title in 1996.
He had short stints with the NBA’s Boston Celtics and New York Knicks before returning to college at the University of Louisville. He coached the Cardinals from 2001 to 2017 and won the national title in 2013, though it was later vacated for NCAA violations.
He was also inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Pitino says he was joking about the wine being stolen.
(CHICAGO) — Former President Bill Clinton made an astounding claim at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night about the relative success of Democratic presidents when compared to their Republican counterparts in the area of job creation. The statistic is misleading, however.
“Since the end of the Cold War in 1989, America has created about 51 million new jobs. I swear I checked this three times. Even I couldn’t believe it. What’s the score? Democrats 50, Republicans 1,” Clinton told the audience at the United Center in Chicago.
Technically, the statistic is accurate, as long as one sets the date for the end of the Cold War at around January 1989. But the statistic omits relevant information.
To start, the Berlin Wall did not fall until November 1989. Beginning the tally in November 1989 would have shaved off some additional jobs created under President George H.W. Bush, leaving the Republicans at a net-negative job tally over the years since. That statistic would have appeared even more lopsided.
By setting his calculation to begin at the end of the Cold War, meanwhile, Clinton leaves out 16.8 million jobs created under President Ronald Reagan from 1980 to 1988.
Since January 1989, the U.S. has added 51.5 million jobs, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows. During Democratic administrations, the nation has added nearly 50 million of those jobs. By contrast, Republican presidents have overseen the creation of some 1.5 million jobs over that period, according to BLS data.
In general, presidents exert limited control over the jobs created while they’re in office. Each of the last three Republican presidents – George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump — ended his term in office during a period of economic difficulty.
For instance, debate persists over the extent to which George W. Bush deserves blame for the Great Recession, when some of the contributing factors took hold before he entered office. The Great Recession also weighed on the economy during the Obama presidency, but the downturn began before he took office.
In all, George H.W. Bush oversaw the creation of 2.6 million jobs, while George W. Bush helped the economy add another 2.1 million jobs. A portion of those gains is wiped out, however, by 2.8 million job losses under Trump as a result of COVID-19.
Economists disagree in their assessment of Trump’s handling of the economy after the outbreak of the pandemic.
Still, Clinton accurately notes that Democratic presidents have overseen the economy during periods of booming job growth. The economy added 23.2 million jobs during the Clinton administration, and another 10.5 million jobs during the presidency of Barack Obama.
Over the first three and half years of the Biden administration, the economy has added 16.2 million jobs.
(NEW YORK) — Hate crime and murder charges have been filed against a New York City parks worker in the fatal July shooting of a Venezuelan migrant, a crime prosecutors described as “premeditated and cold-blooded.”
Elijah Mitchell, a 23-year-old temporary worker for the New York City Parks Department, was indicted Wednesday on charges of second-degree murder as a hate crime, second-degree murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree menacing as a hate crime, and second-degree menacing, according to a statement from Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
Mitchell is accused of gunning down Arturo Jose Rodriguez Marcano in July at Brooklyn’s Stueben Playground, three days after he allegedly threatened the 30-year-old migrant with a handgun during an argument at the park, Gonzalez said in his statement.
“This defendant allegedly came to the location where the victim was staying, armed with a gun, to settle a score,” Gonzalez said in the statement. “This premeditated and cold-blooded homicide is outrageous on many levels, not least because the alleged motive was hatred towards new arrivals to our city.”
Mitchell pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday in Brooklyn Supreme Court and a public defender was appointed to represent him. An ABC News request for comment sent to Mitchell’s attorney was not immediately answered. The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation had no comment in response to a similar ABC News request.
The shooting unfolded around 10:40 p.m. on July 21 inside Stueben Playground, prosecutors said.
Mitchell allegedly went to the park looking for Marcano and shot him once in the chest before fleeing the scene on foot, prosecutors said. The mortally wounded victim was taken to Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, where he was pronounced dead.
After he was detained July 29 for questioning about Marcano’s murder, Mitchell allegedly admitted to being at the park the night of the shooting but claimed he did not commit the killing, saying he went there to use the restroom, heard a gunshot and then ran, according to a statement prosecutors say he gave detectives after allegedly waiving his Miranda right to remain silent.
“Hell no, I didn’t have a gun that night,” Mitchell purportedly told detectives, according to his statement to detectives, which prosecutors provided to ABC News on Thursday.
Three days before the shooting, prosecutors allege Mitchell, who claimed to be homeless and living out of his car, got into a heated argument with Rodriguez Marcano at the playground.
“The defendant went to a vehicle, came back and allegedly lifted his shirt to show a gun in his waistband. He was pulled away by other employees,” prosecutors said in a statement.
But Mitchell, according to his statement to detectives, denied threatening Rodriguez Marcan with a gun. He said he was told to leave the park that day by his supervisor when a group of migrants living in the park became upset with him and other parks department employees for trying to clear their homeless encampment as part of their work duties.
“What caused me to leave was that they were being aggressive,” Mitchell purportedly told detectives of the migrants’ reaction, according to his statement to detectives. “They started grabbing weapons and s—. I just went back to the truck. No, I don’t have a gun on me. I don’t do that. I’m positive.”
Mitchell said he harbors no animus toward migrants, but conceded that he and his coworkers were “tired of removing people from the park,” according to his statement to detectives.
“It’s not my problem. It’s not [the] Parks Department’s problem. I go to work, I cut grass, and that’s it. No, I don’t have a problem with migrants,” Mitchell told detectives, according to his statement.
If convicted of the charges, Mitchell faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison, prosecutors said. He is being held in jail on a $2.5 million bond and was ordered to return to court on Oct. 23.
“My office will vigorously prosecute this horrific case, and these enhanced charges send a strong message that hate crimes will never be tolerated in Brooklyn,” Gonzalez said in his statement.
(SIERRA VISTA, Ariz.) — An Arizona man was taken into custody in connection with an alleged social media threat to kill former President Donald Trump, according to officials.
Ronald Lee Syvrud, 66, of Benson, was taken into custody on Thursday without incident, a Cochise County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told ABC News.
Syvrud was wanted for “suspicious activity,” the sheriff’s office in southeastern Arizona said.
“Syvrud is being sought as an investigative lead for threats to kill a presidential candidate,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release on Facebook.
The sheriff’s office did not provide any additional details on the alleged threats, including the name of the candidate. However, two sources told ABC News the alleged social media threat was directed at Trump.
Trump was scheduled to visit the U.S.-Mexico border in Cochise County on Thursday.
The U.S. Secret Service is aware and monitoring the incident, according to sources.
“The U.S. Secret Service investigates all threats against our protectees. As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further at this time,” a Secret Service spokesperson said.
An FBI spokesperson said they are aware of the incident but deferred to the local sheriff’s office for further comment.
Syvrud was also being sought for several outstanding warrants, including failure to appear for a DUI in Wisconsin and failure to register as a sex offender and a hit and run in Graham County, Arizona, the sheriff’s office said.
