(WASHINGTON) — Federal authorities have arrested an Arizona man after he allegedly posted videos online threatening to kill President-elect Donald Trump and his family.
In the videos, posted on Facebook in recent months, Manuel Tamayo-Torres issued an array of bizarre and outlandish claims about Trump, but he also apparently brandished an AR 15-style rifle and other weapons in the videos, and in August he recorded his trip to an arena in Glendale, Arizona, as Trump was holding a campaign rally there, according to charging documents filed in the case.
While the charging documents only refer to Trump as “Individual 1,” they say Tamayo-Torres made “vague yet direct threats” against “the president-elect,” and sources familiar with the investigation separately confirmed Tamayo-Torres’ alleged threats targeted Trump.
“[Y]ou’re gonna die,” Tamayo-Torres allegedly said in a video he posted on Thursday. “[Y]our son’s gonna die. Your whole family is going to die. … I’m going to put a hole in your face.”
The clip was one of “numerous” rambling and curse-laden videos he’s posted “on a near-daily basis” in recent months claiming that “Individual 1” kidnapped and sex-trafficked his children, according to the charging documents.
It’s unclear if Tamayo-Torres actually has children.
Earlier in November, Tamayo-Torres allegedly posted a video threatening “Individual 1” while holding up “what appears to be a white AR 15-style rifle with a 30-round magazine inserted into it,” charging documents said.
In another video, according to the charging documents, Tamayo-Torres said he witnessed “Individual 1” and the Secret Service kidnap his daughter. The video was posted Aug. 23 from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, where Trump was holding a campaign rally that day.
During the rally, Trump noted that he was “nearly assassinated” a month earlier, when a Pennsylvania man, Thomas Crooks, opened fire on him with an AR 15-style rifle during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Authorities have yet to identify a clear motive in that attack.
Trump told rallygoers there are “risks incurred by leaders who stand up to the corrupt political establishment.”
“When you stand up, you bring on some trouble for yourself, but you have to do what’s right,” Trump said.
While investigating the more recent alleged threats from Tamayo-Torres, an officer from a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives task force found photos on Facebook that showed Tamayo-Torres holding a bullpup-style shotgun, a rifle, and the AR15-style rifle seen in one of his videos, according to charging documents.
Tamayo-Torres was arrested Monday near San Diego, where he anticipated moving soon, court records indicate.
Though he was arrested in California, the charges against him were filed in Arizona. He was charged with one count of making threats against a president or president’s successor.
He was also charged with four counts of making false statements during the purchase of a firearm, after he allegedly lied on federal forms a year ago while trying to buy a pistol from a Phoenix gun store.
He swore on those forms that he had not been previously convicted of a felony, but he had been convicted of assault in 2003 in San Diego, so he was legally prohibited from possessing firearms, the charging documents said.
As of Tuesday evening, court records did not list an attorney representing Tamayo-Torres.
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