Former congressional candidate endorsed by Trump surrenders for murder

Daniel Rodimer, a former wrestler who ran for a Republican congressional seat in 2020, surrendered himself to authorities in Nevada on Wednesday evening after an arrest warrant sought him out on an open murder charge.

Mr Rodimer, 45, turned himself into the Clark County Detention Center hours after the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police (LVMP) identified him as a suspect in the murder of 47-year-old Christopher Tapp.

Authorities say Tapp was found suffering from injuries inside a hotel room on the Las Vegas Strip in October 2023. He was transported to the hospital but later pronounced deceased. Initially, officials believed his injuries were a result of an accident.

However, the LVMP conducted a suspicious death investigation and discovered Tapp had been in an altercation. The Clark County Coroner’s Office then ruled Tapp’s death as a homicide as a result of “blunt force trauma to the head.”

Lawyers for Mr Rodimer told The Associated Press that Mr Rodimer was “voluntarily surrendering to authorities” and would post a court-ordered bail.

“He intends on vigorously contesting the allegations and asks that the presumption of innocence guaranteed all Americans be respected,” David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, Mr Rodimer’s attorneys, told the news outlet.

At the time, former president Donald Trump endorsed Mr Rodimer, once saying at a rally, “Dan Rodimer, we’re with you all the way, Dan.”

Throughout that campaign, Mr Rodimer fought allegations of police run-ins and arrests after records revealed his former girlfriend and wife had called 911 twice in 2018. Once, she called regarding an alleged domestic dispute incident. Another time she accused Mr Rodimer of taking $200,000 worth of cash, guns and jewelry from their home.