Man Arrested for Threatening Trump’s Life After Disturbance at TPUSA Event

Charges Filed Against Former Teaching Assistant

Federal prosecutors have accused a former teaching assistant, who was dismissed for allegedly overturning a table at a Turning Point USA event, of making threats against President Donald Trump in a separate case.

Derek Lopez, 27, was detained on October 28 and charged with threatening Trump the following Wednesday, as stated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois. Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the El Paso Police Department, contributed to the investigation.

According to the El Paso Police Department, officers conducted a traffic stop on Lopez around 7:38 p.m. on October 28. He was arrested without any issues, and authorities were in the process of obtaining a federal warrant related to intimidation threats against Trump at that time.

A federal affidavit revealed that Lopez allegedly made online threats directed at Trump. One of his posts reportedly read, “I’m going to kill Donald Trump, Idgaf.” He also commented on a U.S. Secret Service Instagram post with, “Now is the perfect time to kill the president!” Additionally, he shared a video featuring a man aiming a gun at a picture of Trump with a target on it.

Lopez, a graduate teaching assistant at Illinois State University, was terminated in early October after reportedly knocking over a table that Turning Point USA had set up on campus. This led to charges of disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property, categorized as non-custodial offenses under the Illinois SAFE-T Act.

If found guilty of threatening Trump, Lopez could face a maximum of five years in prison. He is set to appear in court for both a preliminary and a detention hearing on November 3.