A 74-year-old man from State College, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged with making threats against the former president while he was buying a parking pass for a commuter lot the day before Donald Trump’s rally at Penn State University.
The suspect, named Paul J. Gavenonis, was arrested on Oct. 25 in the afternoon because a worker told police what he was said, according to the Penn State Police crime log.
Police said the worker told them about the encounter with Gavenonis about 12 minutes after it happened.
WTAJ cited a probable cause affidavit to say that the report came from a PSU Transportation Office employee who said Gavenonis showed up to buy a parking pass and talked about the planned rally for Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center on campus, saying “I hate Donald Trump” and “I would like to shoot that guy” while allegedly racking a gun.
The report said Gavenonis did himself no favors when he talked to police and the U.S. Secret Service.
“To be honest, I hope someone gets him,” he allegedly told the Secret Service. He also said he had a gun at home and “probably” could attack a rally.
Gavenonis was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and making terroristic threats that caused serious public inconvenience. Both of these are considered misdemeanors.
Terroristic threats are made when someone “communicates, either directly or indirectly, a threat to […] otherwise cause serious public inconvenience, or cause terror or serious public inconvenience with reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience.” This is how Pennsylvania law applies to this case.
Gavenonis is being held without bail at Center County Prison because he is “suicidal” and is “alleged to have threatened” Trump, according to the docket sheet for his case.
As the records show, the first hearing is set for Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.
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