Voluntarily turned himself in
A former GOP congressional candidate who is wanted for murder has turned himself in to police.
Donald Trump-endorsed Daniel Rodimer, an ex-WWE wrestler, is accused of murdering 47-year-old Christopher Tapp during an altercation inside a hotel room at the Hilton Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) said that Tapp died at a Vegas hospital from “blunt force trauma to the head.”
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Clark County District Attorney’s office, Rodimer is alleged to have hit Tapp “on the head” in a “willful, deliberate, and premeditated” attack. Lawyers for Rodimer stated that he was “voluntarily surrendering to authorities” and “that the presumption of innocence guaranteed all Americans be respected.”
Video footage shows Rodimer handing himself into the Clark County Detention Center around 6pm Wednesday.
Familiar with law enforcement
This isn’t the first time Rodimer has been in trouble with the police.
In 2011, he was charged with misdemeanor battery for throwing a man to the floor at a Waffle House in Naples, Florida. Rodimer was accused of grabbing the victim by the neck before throwing him into a chair and on the floor.
enjoyed hurting people”
After leaving the restaurant. Rodimer shouted that he “enjoyed hurting people.”
Aside from his criminal convictions, Rodimer’s political career has been a short one. In 2020, he failed in his campaign to represent Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District. Undeterred, he moved to Texas, but again failed in his bid to make it to Congress after he was accused of attempting to win voters over with a fake Texas accent.
Wrongful conviction
Christopher Tapp was wrongfully convicted for a 1996 murder in Idaho he didn’t commit.
Before he was exonerated by DNA evidence, Tapp spent 20 years in prison. When he was released, he was awarded $11.7m following a settlement with law enforcement.
A month before his death, Tapp recorded an interview talking about his time behind bars. He died before it could air.