A Chesterton man’s threat to the U.S. Naval Academy that led to a lockdown in September is detailed in a recent court filing.
Jackson Fleming, 22, was formally indicted Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Indiana with one count of transmitting a threat in interstate communication. His next hearing is Oct. 16.
“Honestly not that surprised I’ll be carrying out the mass execution of my peers in a couple,” he wrote Sept. 11 in Jodel, an anonymous app used by midshipmen, filings allege.
Fleming changed his location to the Annapolis area from Chesterton.
Defense lawyer Jonathan Bedi said in court during a Sept. 22 hearing that federal prosecutors were alleging it was a “specific reaction to Charlie Kirk’s assassination,” not in retaliation for getting kicked out of the Naval Academy.
The indictment does not provide further clarification.
A Naval Academy spokeswoman previously confirmed Fleming was a midshipman from June 30, 2021, to Jan 5, 2024.
Deputy Prosecutor Francis Sohn said in the Sept. 22 hearing that Fleming had been kicked out of the Naval Academy for drugs.
At some point, Fleming told two people he was found with substances, including mushrooms and anabolic steroids, and had purchased fake urine online to try to pass a drug screening.
In an Instagram message as police were closing in, Fleming wrote he “might have to delete all socials,” later adding he felt “so sick bringing this problem to (my family).”
Kirk, a conservative activist, was fatally shot on Sept. 10 while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
About 90 minutes after the lockdown took effect on Sept. 11, the Naval Academy’s deputy commandant emailed students, telling them that as law enforcement worked to secure the school, a midshipman mistook police for a threat and engaged them, according to the official.
The official added that the midshipman was armed with a parade rifle and struck an officer in the head. Law enforcement, in turn, fired on the midshipman, striking him in the arm. The account was reported earlier by The New York Times.
Hours later, at 9:40 p.m., a Navy statement confirmed that there was no threat of an active shooter and that one person was flown by helicopter with injuries but was in stable condition. The lockdown was lifted shortly after midnight.
The Associated Press contributed.
mcolias@post-trib.com