An Arizona resident, Manuel Tamayo-Torres, has been apprehended by federal authorities following his alleged threats to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump and his family members.
The threats were reportedly made in a series of videos, replete with expletives, that Tamayo-Torres shared "on a near-daily basis." These videos featured him wielding an automatic rifle, adding a chilling visual element to his threats.
According to American Military News, court documents describe Tamayo-Torres' threats as "vague yet direct" against "the president-elect." Although the documents refer to the target as "Individual 1," sources have confirmed to ABC News that the intended victim was indeed Donald Trump.
In these Facebook videos, some of which were shared as recently as last week, Tamayo-Torres is alleged to have made a series of outlandish claims, including accusations that Trump was involved in the kidnapping and sex trafficking of his children. "You're gonna die," Tamayo-Torres allegedly declared in a video shared last Thursday. "Your son's gonna die. Your whole family is going to die. I'm going to put a hole in your face."
In another video shared earlier this month, Tamayo-Torres was seen armed with "what appears to be a white AR-15-style rifle with a 30-round magazine inserted into it," as per the charging documents.
On August 23, Tamayo-Torres seemingly filmed himself at a Trump rally at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, claiming to have witnessed Secret Service members and the president-elect kidnap his daughter. This rally occurred approximately a month after an assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
During their investigation into Tamayo-Torres, an officer from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives discovered photos on Facebook of Tamayo-Torres holding a bullpup-style shotgun, a rifle, and the AR-15-style rifle seen in one of his videos, as stated in the charging documents.
Earlier this week, Tamayo-Torres was arrested in California on a count of making threats against a president or president's successor. He also faces four counts of making false statements during the purchase of a firearm, following allegations that he lied on federal forms while attempting to purchase a pistol from a Phoenix gun store last year. This case serves as a stark reminder of the threats faced by those in positions of power, and the importance of maintaining robust security measures to protect them.
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