Just because you go to college, that doesn’t mean you’re smart. And this story is a perfect example of how even the most privileged people in America can become make a bonehead decision and end up with federal criminal charges.
Three University of South Alabama students showed up in federal court Friday to answer charges of threatening the president, which is one way to spend the afternoon while Donald Trump is literally flying into your city for a rally. Talk about bad timing.
Amare Jemal Woods, Cameron Lamark Lewis and Kayla Leaann Smith are each charged with making threats against the president. A federal magistrate judge ordered all three detained after a detention hearing Monday, apparently unconvinced by the argument that posting violent messages on social media is just good clean fun.
What They Actually Posted
The affidavits, filed by federal law enforcement officers, allege the defendants made their feelings known on social media in the run-up to Trump’s Mobile rally. According to student threats against Trump, Woods, posting under the handle jemaltherealone on TikTok, wrote “he gotta die bro” on September 27 in response to a post about the president’s upcoming visit. Concise. Alarming. Not a great look for an aerospace engineering student.
Lewis, a philosophy major, allegedly made a veiled reference on X to last year’s assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk. One might expect a philosophy major to think through the downstream consequences of that particular post a little more carefully. Apparently not.
Smith, who is pursuing a degree in elementary education, allegedly replied to a TikTok post on September 29 with “We only got one chance let’s take it,” then followed up with an image of someone mimicking holding a gun. The future teacher of America, everyone.
The Defense Makes Its Case
Jason Darley, the attorney representing Woods, did not exactly deny the posts. Instead, he offered what might be the most sweeping defense argument of the year: “If this kid is a threat, then everybody pecking on a keyboard is a threat.” He also acknowledged that “the statute as it’s written is so broad. It doesn’t require that the person have any capability of carrying it out.”
Darley did note a somewhat awkward logistical detail: “The problem is that the president is on campus and Woods is a student.” He added that he does not believe his client actually intended to harm Trump, and described him as an aerospace engineering student who recently graduated from a Mobile-area high school and comes from a good family. Darley said he will argue his client poses no danger, and added, “I don’t honestly think any of these three are threats.”
The University of South Alabama, for its part, was unambiguous. “The University of South Alabama unequivocally condemns any form of threats directed at elected officials or any individual with whom we disagree,” the school said in a statement, adding that “there is a clear line between exercising free expression and engaging in intimidation or unlawful conduct.”
The maximum penalty for the offense is five years in prison, which is a long time to reflect on the difference between a hot take and a federal charge. All three remain detained for now, and their cases will move forward through federal court. The Secret Service, as Woods’s own attorney confirmed, takes threats against the president extremely seriously. Who knew that typing “he gotta die bro” on the internet could have real-world consequences? Apparently not everyone on the University of South Alabama campus.
Just one question… is daddy still signing off on the college loans or will that money go to bail?
