A man has been charged with stalking, attempted kidnapping and aggravated criminal trespass after allegedly scaling a wall and knocking on the door of Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s residence in Tennessee, police say.
The Memphis Police Department said Wednesday that it recovered “a taser, gloves, rope and duct tape” from the vehicle of 25-year-old Trenton Abston as he was arrested.
The suspect allegedly approached the home on Sunday “with gloves on, a full pocket, and a nervous demeanor,” Young wrote Wednesday on Facebook.
Abston was listed as an inmate in the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office database, which showed a hearing for him scheduled for Friday. It was not immediately clear if he has an attorney who could speak on his behalf. CBS News has reached out to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident comes on the heels of what officials called politically motivated shootings last week in which Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in their home and state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were wounded. The suspect, who has been taken into custody, impersonated police officers as he approached their homes and shot his victims, according to investigators.
Young wrote on Facebook that political violence “simply cannot become our norm.”
“In today’s climate, especially after the tragic events in Minnesota and the threats my wife and I often receive online, none of us can be too careful,” Young said. “The link between angry online rhetoric and real-life violence is becoming undeniable.”
“What starts as reckless words online can all too quickly become something much more dangerous,” the mayor continued. “The angry rhetoric, the hateful speech, and the heated threats create a culture where violence feels like a next step instead of a red line.”
Young was elected mayor in 2023 and was sworn in on Jan. 1, 2024. He was previously the director of Memphis’ Division of Housing and Community Development.
State and local officeholders reported increasing levels of threats in recent years, according to a January 2024 report from the Brennan Center, a nonpartisan law and policy institute. The threats range from insults to physical attacks, according to the report, with 18% of local officeholders experiencing threats.
The same day of the Minnesota shootings, June 14, the Texas Department of Public Safety Capitol Region said it was notified of a threat made against Texas lawmakers. A suspect was taken into custody for further questioning and the investigation is ongoing, the agency wrote on X.
