A federal grand jury has indicted a Lauderdale County woman for threatening President Donald Trump on social media ahead of his planned trip to Tuscaloosa. Megan Lorraine Utz, 36, of Courtland, Alabama, is charged in a two-count indictment filed Thursday in U.S. District Court with threats against the President of the United States and interstate transmission of a threatening communication, U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. announced.
According to the indictment and the complaint, on October 5 Utz shared a news post about Trump's planned attendance at the October 10 football game between Alabama and Georgia in Tuscaloosa, adding her own caption: "He's not allowed in my stadium! I'll put a bullet through him if he dares."
The next day, October 6, FBI agents, Secret Service agents and Florence police located Utz in Florence, Alabama, where Florence officers arrested her on an active misdemeanor warrant for harassing communications issued by the Guin Police Department. Her phone was seized, and according to court documents reported by WHNT, Utz told investigators she believed malware on her phone had led to the post.
Trump never made the trip — the Tuscaloosa visit was ultimately cancelled as Hurricane Isaias hit Alabama that same weekend.
"Threats of violence are taken seriously, and we are committed to protecting the safety of our nation's leaders," Williams said. "In an era in which our current President has faced multiple attempts on his life we will act swiftly to address threats such as those listed in this complaint." FBI Birmingham Special Agent in Charge David R. Fitzgibbons added: "People have every right to express their views, but when that expression turns into a threat against another individual, it becomes a federal matter." Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Glaze also praised the partner agencies' swift response.
The indictment follows an earlier federal complaint over the same conduct, on which Utz was first arrested; a grand jury indicts after finding probable cause. The case was investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service and the Florence and Guin police departments, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John M. Hundscheid and Gregory R. Dimler. An indictment is merely an allegation, and Utz is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.