Overview
- Derek Lopez, 27, was taken into custody Oct. 28 during an El Paso, Illinois, traffic stop conducted by local police with FBI assistance on a federal warrant.
- A federal complaint alleges explicit online threats, including the statement "I'm gonna kill Donald Trump," a video of a gun pointed at a Trump graphic, and a comment on a Secret Service Instagram post.
- The FBI says the arrest followed a month-long investigation coordinated with the Secret Service, Illinois State University Police and the El Paso Police Department.
- Lopez made an initial court appearance Wednesday; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois says he faces up to five years in prison if convicted, with preliminary and detention hearings set for Nov. 3.
- Earlier in October, Illinois State University removed him from his graduate teaching assistant role after a viral Turning Point USA table-flip, and campus police charged him with disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property.