Parents of Ariz. Man Accused in Plot to Kill Trump Speak Out

The elderly parents of the man accused of plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump in Arizona last week said it was all a means of getting attention.

Lee and Phyllis Syvrud told the Daily Mail on Tuesday although their son Ronald Syvrud held deep contempt for Trump, they don't think he realistically could have assassinated him.

"I think it's just him trying to get attention and talk tough," Phyllis Syvrud, 89, said from her home just outside of Madison, Wisconsin.

Last week, Ronald Syvrud, 66, was arrested in Benson, Arizona, on the same day that Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, were visiting the southern border town of Sierra Vista, Arizona, to highlight their policy on immigration reform. Syvrud was arrested without incident and remains in custody at Cochise County Jail.

Although authorities said he made online death threats against the former president, an online search was unable to locate any account in Syvrud's name or other information on him. The Cochise County Sheriff's office posted Thursday on Facebook that the alleged messages "contained language that indicated bodily harm to the candidate" but didn't elaborate further or provide visual reference.

Syvrud also was arrested on outstanding warrants from Wisconsin for a DUI/failure to appear for a DUI and failure to register as a sex offender, and in Arizona for a hit-and-run.

Phyllis Syvrud said her son had been in a downward spiral since the death of his brother Gregory in 2022 and had difficulty maintaining employment.

"He was filled with hatred," she said. "He drank more and more. He was getting angrier and angrier. I've told Lee he needs help.

"It's just been one situation after another."

Syvrud's parents said they share their son's dislike for Trump, who survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

"His dislike of Trump is as bad as ours," Phyllis Syvrud said. "He doesn't like all his lying. But I've never heard him make a threat before."

Said Lee Syvrud: "It's Trump's own admission that he wants to be a dictator. That scares the [expletive] out of me. I had four brothers in the service in the Second World War. I don't want another Hitler."

The parents lamented that they had been trying to get their son to return to Wisconsin.

"We want him to come home and get better ... and get himself in therapy and take care of that DUI stuff,' Lee Syvrud said.

Said Phyllis Syvrud: "He needs it so bad because he's so angry and hateful. ... We worry, we really worry."