Manuel Tamayo-Torres, a 45-year-old Tolleson, Arizona resident, has been detained by federal authorities for purportedly issuing death threats against President-elect Donald Trump and his family. Tamayo-Torres was apprehended on November 25, 2024, in San Diego, California, after posting a sequence of videos on social media where he displayed firearms and voiced explicit threats.
Court records reveal that Tamayo-Torres disseminated several videos on Facebook across multiple months, alleging that Trump had abducted and trafficked his children for sexual exploitation. The existence of any children of Tamayo-Torres, however, remains unverified.
In a video uploaded on November 21, he declared, “[Y]ou’re gonna die. [Y]our son’s gonna die. Your whole family is going to die… I’m going to put a hole in your face.”
On August 23, in another video, Tamayo-Torres recorded himself at a Trump rally at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, asserting that he had witnessed Trump and Secret Service agents abducting his daughter to traffic her into prostitution.
Tamayo-Torres was also indicted for making false statements during firearm acquisitions. He is accused of providing false information on federal forms in 2023 while attempting to purchase a pistol from a Phoenix, Arizona gun store. He denied having any previous felony convictions, despite a 2003 assault conviction in San Diego, California.
The arrest of Tamayo-Torres occurs during a wave of threats directed at Trump and those close to him. Multiple notable nominees and appointees to Trump’s Cabinet have been victims of bomb threats and “swatting” attacks, a tactic involving false reports designed to trigger an armed law enforcement response. Trump’s transition team reports that federal authorities are conducting active investigations into these incidents.
Among the individuals targeted were Rep. Elise Stefanik from New York, who has been nominated as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Matt Gaetz, Trump’s initial choice for attorney general. Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, chosen to head the Department of Labor, and former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, selected for the Environmental Protection Agency, also fell prey to these attacks. Authorities responded promptly to safeguard the individuals and their families.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, President-elect Trump was the target of two assassination attempts, one of which nearly ended his life. In July, at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a man armed with an AR–15–style rifle fired eight shots, with one grazing Trump’s right ear and another fatally hitting a supporter in the crowd. The shooter, positioned 400 feet from the stage, was halted by a Secret Service sniper before further damage could be inflicted.
In another incident in September, an individual armed with an AK-47 rifle was apprehended near Trump’s Florida golf course. The suspect had hidden for nearly 12 hours before being intercepted by Secret Service agents, thereby preventing another potential assassination attempt.
The FBI is conducting an investigation into the most recent incident, underscoring the significance of safeguarding public figures and protecting the democratic process.