Michael M. Wiseman was charged with writing menacing messages on Facebook which were reported by the public
Florida police have arrested a man who made public threats to kill Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance. The move comes after Trump survived an assassination attempt last week.
In a statement on Facebook on Friday, the Police Department in Jupiter, a town located two dozen miles from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, said it had arrested Michael M. Wiseman “after an investigation found that the suspect had made written threats on social media” against both Trump and Vance, as well as their families.
Law enforcement officials said Wiseman became a person of interest after they were alerted to the threats by both online crime tips and concerned local residents. A review of the suspect’s account revealed that Wiseman “had made multiple threats against Trump and Vance,” the statement read.
The Jupiter Police Department added that it coordinated the investigation with US Secret Service and the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, later taking Wiseman into custody without incident.
According to screenshots of the messages shared by social media users, Wiseman wanted Trump and Vance to “be murdered before turning us in to West Russia” while urging sexual assault against their daughters.
Under Florida statutes, those found guilty of written threats to kill or injure could face up to 15 years in prison or 15 years of probation, as well as a $10,000 fine.
The arrest comes after Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, which left one man dead and two others injured. One bullet missed Trump’s head by mere millimeters, piercing his ear. The gunman, who was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed on the spot by Trump’s security detail.
A CNN report on Friday claimed that the Secret Service – which has been widely criticized for failing to prevent the attack on Trump – was scrambling to beef up security around the Republican’s future campaign events, with the security apparatus around Trump himself reportedly being entirely changed.
A source also told the network that law enforcement is concerned about “a possible copycat incident and others who may be inspired to carry out another attack after seeing the previous one narrowly fail.”
