A former teaching assistant fired after viral footage showed him flipping over a Turning Point USA table was charged with making threats against President Donald Trump in a separate incident.
Derek Lopez, 27, was arrested on Oct. 28 and charged Wednesday with making threats against Trump, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois press release. Multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in the investigation, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the El Paso Police Department (EPPD).
EPPD and FBI law enforcement officials conducted a traffic stop on Oct. 28 at around 7:38 p.m., according to an EPPD statement. Lopez was identified as the driver and was apprehended without incident. Authorities wanted him on a federal warrant for making the alleged threats against Trump at the time of his arrest, police said.
Lopez made online threats against Trump, a federal affidavit obtained by the Daily Caller alleged. “I’m gonna kill Donald Trump, idgaf,” one of the alleged posts read.
“[T]his is the perfect time to kill the president! The Secret Service is down!,” Lopez commented on one of the U.S. Secret Service’s Instagram posts, according to the affidavit. Lopez also allegedly posted a video of a man pointing a gun at a graphic of Trump with what appeared to be a target on his head.
Lopez, who was a graduate teaching assistant at Illinois State University, was removed after footage emerged of him flipping over a table put up by Turning Point USA members on the campus quad earlier in October, according to 25NewsNow. Police arrested him on allegations of disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property, which Illinois’ SAFE-T-Act labels non-detainable offenses. (RELATED: Why Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Has Avoided Federal Charges — For Now)
Derek Lopez Affidavit by christinemariesellers
If convicted on the allegations of making threats against Trump, Lopez faces up to five years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. He is set to appear in court on Nov. 3 for preliminary and detention hearings.
An EPPD spokesperson confirmed EPPD officers participated in Lopez’s arrest when contacted for comment.