ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A 23-year-old Indiana man has been charged in federal court with transmitting a threat in interstate communication after an online post prompted a lockdown and a confused response at the U.S. Naval Academy last week, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Jackson Fleming of Chesterton, Indiana, was arrested Friday and charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana, which said Fleming is accused of sending a threat through a social media application concerning the academy. Fleming’s attorney, Jonathan Bedi, said in an email that the defense intends to "fight these charges in court vigorously" and that Fleming should not be judged on the government’s accusations alone.
The threatening post prompted authorities to respond to what initially was reported as a possible active shooter, and the academy implemented a lockdown Thursday while security personnel investigated, the academy said in a statement last week. Officials later determined there was no active shooter threat, but the response unfolded amid confusion.
During the investigation, a midshipman who misinterpreted security activity as hostile was shot in the shoulder. The wounded midshipman was treated and released from a hospital on Friday. A member of the naval security force also sustained minor injuries and was treated and released, the academy said.
Federal prosecutors charged Fleming with one count of transmitting a threat in interstate communication. The charge carries potential federal penalties, and the case will proceed in federal court in Indiana. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the arrest followed an investigation into the social media post that allegedly crossed state lines.
The incident occurred as schools and campuses across the United States have been on heightened alert after a string of recent violence, officials said. Authorities have cited several high-profile attacks in recent weeks, including a fatal attack at a Utah college that officials described as the assassination of a conservative activist, a shooting at a Denver high school that left two students injured and the gunman dead, and a shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church in which two children from an affiliated school were killed and 17 people were injured more than two weeks ago.
Naval Academy officials said the lockdown policy and the response were triggered by the threat report and the safety concerns it generated. The academy has not said whether it identified how the alleged post originated beyond noting it prompted an investigation that led to Fleming’s arrest.
Fleming’s attorney said the defense is prepared to mount a vigorous defense and expressed confidence that Fleming will be vindicated when additional facts are revealed. The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for further comment beyond the information in its news release.
The midshipman wounded in the incident and the injured security member had been released from medical care as of Friday, and the Naval Academy said it continued to review the episode and its security response.
The case remains under investigation as prosecutors prepare to present charges in federal court.