Three Alabama Students Face Federal Charges Over Alleged Trump Threats Before Mobile Rally

Three University of South Alabama students were arrested on Friday and charged with threatening President Donald Trump, after federal investigators traced a series of social-media posts made in the days before his campaign rally in Mobile, Alabama.

The federal cases were unsealed on Friday afternoon, just hours before Trump was due to take the stage at the university’s Mitchell Center, according to the Lagniappe Daily newspaper, whose reporting on the FBI affidavits was cited by the New York Post and Fox News.

Federal investigators uncovered the posts while carrying out social-media monitoring ahead of the president’s visit, and identified the writers through emergency disclosure requests and information from University of South Alabama police, the affidavits say.

One student allegedly posted on X that people would remember the University of South Alabama “the same way they remember Utah Valley University” — a reference investigators read in light of the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at that campus in 2025. Another allegedly wrote a threatening remark under a TikTok post about Trump’s visit, while a third replied to a TikTok post about his appearance.

All three cases remain allegations, and the students are entitled to the presumption of innocence.

The university said the rally was not a campus event, noting that the Mitchell Center had been rented by the Republican National Committee, while Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said his office had been assisting federal authorities in monitoring social-media activity linked to the visit.

Sources

• New York Post — Three college students face federal charges over alleged threats against Trump ahead of campus rally
• Fox News — Three college students face federal charges over alleged threats against Trump ahead of campus rally