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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Man arrested for plot to kill Trump | Man arrested for plot to kill Trump |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| A 71-year-old New Yorker is accused of threatening to kidnap and kill Donald Trump over the 2020 election | A 71-year-old New Yorker is accused of threatening to kidnap and kill Donald Trump over the 2020 election |
| A New York City resident has been arrested for saying he plotted to abduct and murder then-US President Donald Trump if he refused to hand over power after losing the 2020 election. | A New York City resident has been arrested for saying he plotted to abduct and murder then-US President Donald Trump if he refused to hand over power after losing the 2020 election. |
| Thomas Welnicki was arrested on Monday after he allegedly told the Secret Service on multiple occasions of his plot to kill Trump and another 12 unidentified pro-Trump members of Congress, who he believed backed the Republican president’s claims of election fraud. | Thomas Welnicki was arrested on Monday after he allegedly told the Secret Service on multiple occasions of his plot to kill Trump and another 12 unidentified pro-Trump members of Congress, who he believed backed the Republican president’s claims of election fraud. |
| While Trump is not mentioned by name in the complaint, which was filed with the US District Court in Brooklyn, a footnote identifies “Individual-1” as the “person who served as president from January 2017 to January 2021.” | While Trump is not mentioned by name in the complaint, which was filed with the US District Court in Brooklyn, a footnote identifies “Individual-1” as the “person who served as president from January 2017 to January 2021.” |
| Welnicki revealed his plan in calls and voice messages to the Secret Service, spanning several months. The messages that started well before the November 2020 presidential election included a “voluntary interview” in July to the US Capitol Police, in which Welnicki reportedly said that “if [Individual-1] loses the 2020 election and refused to step down, he would ‘acquire weapons’ and ‘take him down.’” | Welnicki revealed his plan in calls and voice messages to the Secret Service, spanning several months. The messages that started well before the November 2020 presidential election included a “voluntary interview” in July to the US Capitol Police, in which Welnicki reportedly said that “if [Individual-1] loses the 2020 election and refused to step down, he would ‘acquire weapons’ and ‘take him down.’” |
| “I really hope that God takes [Individual-1] out,” Welnicki said. | “I really hope that God takes [Individual-1] out,” Welnicki said. |
| He also supposedly “bragged about how easy it was for him to acquire a firearm” in New York City, stating that while he didn’t “want to hurt anyone,” he would “stand up to fascism,” according to court documents. | He also supposedly “bragged about how easy it was for him to acquire a firearm” in New York City, stating that while he didn’t “want to hurt anyone,” he would “stand up to fascism,” according to court documents. |
| In a subsequent phone call to the Secret Service’s Long Island office in January, Welnicki doubled down on his threat, saying that he would do anything he could to “take out [Trump] and his 12 monkeys.” He even indicated that he might strike during a particular Trump rally, saying: “If I had the opportunity to do it in Manhattan that would be awesome … Tomorrow [Trump] will be in Georgia, maybe I will.” | In a subsequent phone call to the Secret Service’s Long Island office in January, Welnicki doubled down on his threat, saying that he would do anything he could to “take out [Trump] and his 12 monkeys.” He even indicated that he might strike during a particular Trump rally, saying: “If I had the opportunity to do it in Manhattan that would be awesome … Tomorrow [Trump] will be in Georgia, maybe I will.” |
| Numerous Trump critics had warned in 2020 that he would attempt to hold on to power post-election. Trump ultimately bowed out and moved to Florida to live at his Mar-a-Lago resort, after courts refused to hear his attempts to contest the vote totals in several states. Congress certified Democrat Joe Biden as the winner following the January 6 Capitol riot. | Numerous Trump critics had warned in 2020 that he would attempt to hold on to power post-election. Trump ultimately bowed out and moved to Florida to live at his Mar-a-Lago resort, after courts refused to hear his attempts to contest the vote totals in several states. Congress certified Democrat Joe Biden as the winner following the January 6 Capitol riot. |
| Welnicki was ultimately released on a $50,000 bond, with his attorney insisting that he posed no threat to Trump at any point. “The bulk of his calls seem to be him calling [the] Secret Service to discuss with them his concerns,” the attorney claimed. | Welnicki was ultimately released on a $50,000 bond, with his attorney insisting that he posed no threat to Trump at any point. “The bulk of his calls seem to be him calling [the] Secret Service to discuss with them his concerns,” the attorney claimed. |
| Welnicki’s name, age, and arrest record overlaps with a ‘Thomas Welnicki’ who lived in Florida during the 1990s, racking up a string of drug arrests and eventually serving an eight-year prison term on heroin charges, according to public arrest records cited by the media. That same man was also questioned regarding the disappearance of a 7-year-old girl in the area in 1982, according to the Tampa Bay Times. | Welnicki’s name, age, and arrest record overlaps with a ‘Thomas Welnicki’ who lived in Florida during the 1990s, racking up a string of drug arrests and eventually serving an eight-year prison term on heroin charges, according to public arrest records cited by the media. That same man was also questioned regarding the disappearance of a 7-year-old girl in the area in 1982, according to the Tampa Bay Times. |
| At the time, Welnicki claimed he was a psychic while describing in detail the two men who had supposedly kidnapped and murdered the girl. He was not charged in the girl’s disappearance, and the case was never solved. |