By Mark Gray
7:00am PST, Mar 7, 2024
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Police have issued an arrest warrant for a former congressional candidate for the murder of a man in a hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
Daniel Rodimer, who's also a former professional wrestler, unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a Republican in Nevada in 2020. He lost again in a special election in Texas just one year later.
The victim in the case had only recently been released from prison after DNA evidence exonerated him.
Keep reading for the details…
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In October 2023, Las Vegas police responded to an "altercation inside a room" in the hotel at Resorts World, where they found the victim: Christopher Tapp, 47.
He was taken to an area hospital but died on Nov. 5. The Clark County Coroner's Office said the victim died of "blunt force trauma to the head."
It's unclear how Christopher and Daniel Rodimer were connected.
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Christoper Tapp spent two decades in an Idaho prison for a crime he didn't commit.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Christoper was convicted of raping and murdering 18-year-old Angie Dodge, who was stabbed to death in 1996.
He spent 21 years behind bars before he was released in 2017. He was exonerated two years later in 2019.
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Upon his arrest, Daniel Rodimer will be charged with open murder and held without bail, police records say.
Before he tried to carve out a career in politics, Daniel was a middling pro athlete: He played semi-pro football in the Arena Football League and later competed on "WWE Tough Enough" — a reality show on which amateur wrestlers vie for a contract with the WWE.
Named "Big Dan" Rodman is the ring, Daniel dabbled in professional wrestling for a year, competing in multiple promotions before he was released from his contract.
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In spite of his sketchy past, several big names in conservative politics — Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, the National Rifle Association and more — endorsed Daniel Rodimer while he was running for office.
Dan was accused of assault three times in Florida between 2010 and 2013. In 2018, his then-girlfriend and now-wife, Sarah Rodimer, called 911 on two separate occasions and accused him of domestic violence.
One of his political opponents included audio from one of Sarah's 911 calls in a campaign advertisement. But she stood by her man, appearing in campaign commercials with Dan as he attempted to establish himself as a doting family man.
When he ran for office in Texas, he adopted a tough guy persona — he even attempted to ride a bull in one campaign ad. Many media outlets noted that he suddenly spoke with a Texas twang, although he did not have an accent when he ran for office in Nevada.
