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National Guardsman arrested after saying he would kill Mike Pence 'if someone pays me enough money'

The comments were allegedly made ahead of the Mike Pence's comments at the September 11th memorial in Pennsylvania

Mythili Sampathkumar
New York
Tuesday 12 September 2017 21:36 BST
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Stephen M. Clark, Superintendent of the Flight 93 Memorial, right, shows the flight path of United Flight 93 to Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on 11 September 2017.
Stephen M. Clark, Superintendent of the Flight 93 Memorial, right, shows the flight path of United Flight 93 to Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on 11 September 2017. (AP Photo/Fred Vuich)

A military reservist has been arrested after saying that "'if someone pays me enough money, I will kill the vice president."

William Robert Dunbar of Berlin, Pennsylvania, a reportedly made the comment just ahead of Vice President Mike Pence's trip to the September 11th Memorial to the victims of United Flight 93 in Shankesville, Pennsylvania.

Mr Dunbar, a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard, has been charged with disorderly conduct and terroristic threats.

​Richland Township police in Pennsylvania have alleged Mr Dunbar made the threat twice while on duty at the Army National Guard Training Centre, according to the Associated Press.

Witnesses contacted their commanding officers and alerted them.

Police said Mr Dunbar was taken to the Conemaugh Memorial Medical Centre in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for evaluation before heading to the county jail.

There is currently no bond set for him and no attorneys on record.

In similar cases, the US Secret Service - the federal agency tasked with protecting the President, Vice President, and various other high-level government officials - have taken the lead on the investigation.

Mr Pence was able to give his speech to approximately a 1,000 attendees with no further incident.

United Flight 93 was travelling from Newark, New Jersey to San Francisco on the morning of September 11th. Thirty-three passengers and seven crew were killed as they diverted the flight from hitting any high-profile targets.

"I will always believe that I and many others in our nation's capital were able to go home that day and hug our families because of the courage and sacrifice of the heroes of Flight 93," said Mr Pence.

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