Daijiworld Media Network - Mobile
Mobile, Oct 4: Three University of South Alabama students have been arrested and charged with allegedly making threats against US President Donald Trump on social media ahead of his campaign rally at the university's campus, authorities said.
Amare Jemal Woods, Cameron Lamark Lewis and Kayla Leaann Smith were arrested on October 2 after authorities identified separate posts on TikTok and X that allegedly threatened Trump. The FBI said the arrests were carried out in coordination with the US Secret Service, the US Attorney's Office, university and local law enforcement agencies.
The alleged posts were discovered on September 29 during an intelligence search of social media ahead of Trump's visit to Mobile. Authorities said the three alleged threats were not connected to one another.
Woods, 18, a freshman studying aerospace engineering, is accused of commenting "he gotta die bro" along with a crying emoji on a September 27 TikTok post about Trump's planned visit to the campus.
Lewis, a biology student, is accused of making two threatening statements on X on September 26. One allegedly referred to the September 2025 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, while another referenced the fatal shooting of Chicago rapper Mikquale Cooper, also known as BloodHound Q50.
Smith, who studies elementary education, is accused of responding to a September 29 TikTok post about Trump's visit by writing, "We only got one chance let's take it." She also allegedly posted an image of a person appearing to mimic holding a firearm.
The three students appeared in federal court for detention hearings. A federal magistrate judge subsequently ordered all three to remain detained, according to local reports.
Jason Darley, Woods' attorney, said his client was a young student who may have been caught up in inflammatory social media rhetoric. He described the alleged comment as a joke and said Woods did not pose a threat.
Darley said Woods had graduated from high school in May and was attending the University of South Alabama on an aerospace engineering scholarship. He described the comment as being in "poor taste" and having "terrible timing", but denied that it constituted a threat.
The University of South Alabama condemned the alleged threats while stressing that freedom of expression does not extend to unlawful conduct. The university also said Trump's rally was not university-sponsored and that the Mitchell Center had been rented by the Republican National Committee.
Trump's campaign rally went ahead as scheduled at the Mitchell Center on October 2. The FBI said further information on the arrests would be released as it becomes available.