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Students for Trump co-founder arrested for assaulting woman with gun

Ryan Fournier faces up to 60 days in jail if convicted

Michelle Del Rey
Wednesday 29 November 2023 12:46 EST
Ryan Fournier, co-founder of Students for Trump, was arrested in North Carolina last Tuesday on misdemeanour charges of assaulting a female and assault with a deadly weapon
Ryan Fournier, co-founder of Students for Trump, was arrested in North Carolina last Tuesday on misdemeanour charges of assaulting a female and assault with a deadly weapon (Johnston County Sheriff's Office)

Ryan Fournier, the co-founder of Students for Trump, has been arrested in North Carolina on misdemeanour charges of assaulting a female and assault with a deadly weapon.

According to court records from Johnston County, Mr Fournier, 27, is accused of grabbing the woman by her right arm and striking her in the head with a 9mm SIG Sauer firearm on 21 November.

Axios reported that the woman involved in the attack sustained minor injuries in the incident. Identifying information for the woman has been redacted from court records.

The Independent has reached out to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office for additional details.

Mr Fournier was being held in Johnston County Jail before posting $2,500 bond the same day as the attack. He has waived his right to counsel, court records show. The Independent has reached out to Mr Fournier for comment. His deposition hearing is scheduled for Dec 18.

If convicted, he faces up to 60 days in jail for a first offence.

According to his website, Mr Fournier helped launch Students for Trump while a freshman at Campbell University, a private institution in Buies Creek where he studied political science.

He currently serves as the organisation’s chairman. The group’s aim is to re-elect former president Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

Mr Fournier is also the executive director of Radical Alert, an organisation dedicated to “exposing” radicals on college campuses across the country, according to the group’s website.

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