MOBILE, Ala. — Three South Alabama students charged with threatening President Donald Trump appeared in federal court Friday, the same day the president traveled to Mobile for a political rally on their university’s campus.
Amare Jemal Woods, Cameron Lamark Lewis and Kayla Leaann Smith, all students at the University of South Alabama, are charged with making threats against the president. Federal investigators allege each of them posted threatening messages on social media in the days leading up to Trump’s Friday evening rally at the university’s Mitchell Center.
The charges are accusations. All three are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in court.
A federal magistrate judge ordered the three held over the weekend. They are scheduled to appear Monday for detention hearings, where a judge will consider whether they should remain in custody while their cases proceed.
FBI Cites Coordinated Effort
The FBI’s Mobile Division announced the arrests Friday night, saying the three had allegedly made “threatening communications” directed at the president. The bureau said it worked with the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the University of South Alabama, the USA Police Department, the Mobile Police Department, the Saraland Police Department and the Alabama Fusion Center.
“These arrests are a result of the FBI’s continued efforts to identify and mitigate targeted violence, threats, and criminal activity against government personnel, entities, and operations, as outlined in the September 2025, National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-7): Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” FBI Mobile said. “They were closely coordinated with the Joint Mission Center (JMC).”
The FBI said more information would be released as it becomes available.
According to court records made public Friday, the alleged posts were made separately and were not connected to one another. Investigators said they found the messages Sept. 29 while conducting an intelligence review of social media ahead of the president’s visit. All three students were taken into custody Friday.
What the Affidavits Allege
Affidavits filed by federal agents describe the specific posts at the center of each case. The following are allegations made by investigators and have not been proven in court.
Amare Jemal Woods
Woods, a freshman studying aerospace engineering, is accused of posting on TikTok under the handle “jemaltherealone.” According to the affidavit, on Sept. 27 he wrote “he gotta die bro” along with a crying emoji in a comment under a post about the president’s rally.
“The post was made in a comment responding to a post about the President’s intended visit to the University of South Alabama campus on Oct. 2,” an FBI agent wrote.
Cameron Lamark Lewis
Lewis is accused of posting two threatening statements on X on Sept. 26. Reports differ on his field of study. Charging documents also describe him as a Walgreens pharmacy technician.
According to investigators, one post, which contained a racial slur, said people would remember the University of South Alabama the way they remember Utah Valley University. Agents said that was a reference to the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University in September 2025.
The second post, which also contained a racial slur, included a reference to “Q50.” The FBI agent wrote that the term referred to the ambush shooting death of rapper Mikquale Cooper, who was known as “Bloodhound Q50.”
Kayla Leaann Smith
Smith, who is studying elementary education, is accused of responding Sept. 29 to a TikTok post that read, “pov: when I overhead everybody at south alabama talking about trump coming to our homecoming.”
According to the FBI, Smith replied, “We only got one chance let’s take it,” and then posted an image of a person pretending to hold a firearm.
Defense Attorney: ‘I Don’t Honestly Think Any of These Three Are Threats’
Jason Darley, the attorney representing Woods, said the Secret Service treats threats against the president with great seriousness and that the timing of the president’s visit played a role.
“The problem is that the president is on campus and Woods is a student,” Darley said.
Still, Darley said he does not believe his client ever meant to harm the president.
“If this kid is a threat, then everybody pecking on a keyboard is a threat,” he said.
Darley described Woods as a recent graduate of a Mobile-area high school who comes from a good family, and as a “diminutive kid” who, like many people, may have been swept up in the hostility of social media.
“It’s unfortunate because he’s a very young, very small kid and he’s sitting in federal court,” Darley said. “As I told the judge, this kid is the furthest away from any defendant I’ve ever represented in federal court in 21 years.”
Darley said the First Amendment may offer a possible defense, though he acknowledged the law takes a hard line on threats.
“The statute as it’s written is so broad. It doesn’t require that the person have any capability of carrying it out,” he said.
He said he understands why the judge ordered the three held while Trump was in town, but he plans to argue at Monday’s hearing that his client poses no danger.
“I don’t honestly think any of these three are threats,” Darley said.
Attorneys for Lewis and Smith could not immediately be reached for comment.
University Responds
University officials confirmed that three current students had been arrested after allegedly making online threats toward the president. The university released a statement Friday night:
“The University of South Alabama unequivocally condemns any form of threats directed at elected officials or any individual with whom we disagree. We encourage open dialogue and active civic participation, and having a difference of opinion is a natural part of any vibrant community. However, there is a clear line between exercising free expression and engaging in intimidation or unlawful conduct.”
Trump was scheduled to hold a 6 p.m. midterm rally Friday at the Mitchell Center, the university’s arena. Earlier in the day, he was the subject of repeated praise at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Interstate 10 Mobile River Bridge in downtown Mobile.
Understanding the Charge
Making threats against the president is a federal crime. The maximum penalty for the offense the students are charged with is five years in prison.
As Darley noted, the law does not require prosecutors to show that a person had the means to carry out a threat. Courts have long drawn a line, however, between protected speech, including political hyperbole, and what the law treats as a true threat. Where that line falls in a particular case is typically argued by prosecutors and defense attorneys and decided by a judge or jury.
The Secret Service, which protects the president, routinely works with the FBI and local law enforcement to review potential threats before presidential visits.
What Happens Next
All three students remain in federal custody through the weekend. At Monday’s detention hearings, a federal judge will decide whether they will be released, and under what conditions, while their cases move forward.
A detention hearing is not a trial and does not determine guilt or innocence. The government would still need to prove any charges in court, and each defendant has the right to contest the allegations.
The FBI said it will release more information as it becomes available.
Update: More Details on the Allegations and Other Online Threats
Additional details have emerged about the three students and the online climate ahead of the rally. According to reports, Cameron Lamark Lewis serves as a resident assistant at the university and as vice president of USA’s National Pan-Hellenic Council. Investigators said he made two posts on X, one suggesting people would remember South Alabama the way they remember Utah Valley University, where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated in 2025, and another that investigators said urged a killing.
Federal court records indicate the three alleged threats were separate and not part of a coordinated plot.
The arrests came amid a number of other violent or threatening remarks posted online in the days before the rally, including messages in a group chat titled “USA PROTEST” that was created to organize demonstrations against the president’s visit. In screenshots, one participant wrote, “HELP ME RISE UP TO BLOW UP TRUMP,” and later, in an exchange about how organizers would know whether new members truly supported the cause, wrote, “if they suddenly arent then we whack em.” Other public social media comments included “Shoot him yall shoot him plsss” and “Kirk him,” an apparent reference to Kirk’s assassination.
Federal authorities have not publicly identified any of those other posts as the basis for the charges against Woods, Lewis or Smith.
Several student organizations, including USA’s Young Democratic Socialists of America and Jags Against Fascism, promoted demonstrations opposing the visit. Protesters gathered Friday afternoon before marching toward the Mitchell Center, and Trump spoke as scheduled that evening.
The University of South Alabama condemned the alleged threats. “The University of South Alabama unequivocally condemns any form of threats directed at elected officials or any individual with whom we disagree,” the university said. “We encourage open dialogue and active civic participation, and having a difference of opinion is a natural part of any vibrant community. However, there is a clear line between exercising free expression and engaging in intimidation or unlawful conduct.”
All three students are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Detention hearings are scheduled for Monday.
