Special counsel Jack Smith expected to wind down Trump prosecutions: Sources

(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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(PORTLAND, Ore.) — Ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington were set on fire early Monday, police in both states said.

It is unclear if the two arson incidents, which occurred near the Oregon-Washington border, are connected.

In the first reported incident, a ballot box in Portland, Oregon, was set on fire with an incendiary device, police said.

Portland police responded to reports of a fire at a ballot box around 3:30 a.m. local time on Monday. Security at the Multnomah County Elections Division responded and extinguished the fire, officials said.

“Officers determined an incendiary device was placed inside the ballot box and used to ignite the fire,” the Portland Police Bureau said in a statement.

The bureau’s explosive disposal unit cleared the device, police said.

Fire suppressant prevented further damage and protected “virtually all the ballots,” though three were damaged, the Multnomah County Elections Division said in a press release.

Elections officials will contact the three impacted voters so they can receive replacement ballots, the division said.

“We have multiple systems and security measures in place to ensure your ballot is safe,” Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said in a statement.

No other ballot boxes or official drop sites in Multnomah County were affected, the division said.

The Portland Fire Investigations Unit is investigating.

About a half hour later, around 4 a.m. local time, officers in Vancouver, Washington, responded to a report of a ballot box that was smoking and on fire, police said.

“Officers arrived and located a suspicious device next to the box,” which was on fire, the Vancouver Police Department said in a statement.

The fire was extinguished, and members of the Metro Explosive Disposal Unit safely collected the device, police said.

The extent of damage to ballots remains unclear.

The FBI is investigating the incident, police said.

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Two suspects have been arrested in a mass shooting that left one person dead and nine injured near a Tennessee State University homecoming football game event over the weekend, including one alleged shooter who was carrying a high-powered assault-type rifle when he was caught, authorities said.

Both men were arrested on charges of murder, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

The suspects in the shooting near the Nashville, Tennessee, college were identified as Marquez Davis and DeAnthony Brown, both 24 years old, according to police, which released photos of the pair following their arrests.

Davis and Brown were taken into custody Monday night at a short-term rental property close to where Saturday’s shooting erupted, according to police. Davis was allegedly carrying an assault-style rifle with a loaded extended magazine at the time of his arrest, authorities said.

In April, Davis was convicted of robbery, felony gun possession and felony drug possession charges, according to police. He received a 10-year probated sentence to the Community Corrections Program, according to the Nashville police.

“The shooters had no regard for human life and put a crowd of innocent persons, including children, in extreme danger. The entire criminal justice system must treat violent gun crime with the seriousness it demands with resulting incarceration for those convicted,” Police Chief John Drake said in a statement following the arrests.

The shooting unfolded around 5 p.m. local time at an off-campus homecoming celebration event, several blocks east of the Tennessee State campus.

The shooting left a 24-year-old man dead, police said. Of the nine people injured, three were juveniles ranging in age from 12-14 years old, police said.

An exchange of gunfire erupted between two groups of people, according to police.

Five victims were taken to local hospitals via ambulance. Five others were transported by private vehicle, according to police.

Officials believe that some of those injured and hospitalized are suspected of being involved in the gunfire, but most were innocent bystanders, police said.

Injuries range from minor to critical, with some victims sustaining graze wounds, according to police.

A handgun was recovered at the scene, officials said.

The investigation is ongoing and police said more arrests are expected.

The shooting broke out about an hour before the kickoff of the homecoming game between Tennessee State and Eastern Illinois University at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, several miles from the university.

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