West Virginia Woman Charged in Alleged Plot to Assassinate Former President Trump

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In Ripley, West Virginia, a woman has been arrested following accusations of making a threatening social media post. According to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the post allegedly called for individuals to “pursue and assassinate President Trump.”

Sheriff Ross Mellinger announced on Facebook the arrest of 39-year-old Morgan L. Morrow from Ripley. She faces charges of making threats of terroristic acts in connection with the incident.

The case emerged from a criminal complaint filed in Jackson County Magistrate Court. It detailed that authorities were alerted on Sunday to a potential threat aimed at an unidentified individual, suspected to be a public figure.

Sheriff Mellinger emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating, “When you saddle up on the horse of stupidity, you have to be prepared for the ride that follows.” He added, “We’re just trying to do our part in making sure that it’s not acted upon, and there’s no one that’s following her footsteps to try to carry out the plan.”

According to the complaint, deputies said they learned that the reported threat had originated from a public TikTok account allegedly belonging to Morrow, who was a librarian at the Jackson County Public Library.

The complaint goes on to say that the TikTok post included the sentence “Surely a sn!per [sniper] with a terminal illness can’t be a big ask out of 343 million.” Authorities reviewed the content, context, and wording of the post, and interpreted the statement to be a message encouraging and advocating for the assassination of President Donald Trump.

According to the complaint, officers responded to Morrow’s home, where she was detained and taken to the sheriff’s department for further investigation.

In the complaint, deputies say that while Morrow allegedly claimed she had no intention to personally carry out a threat, statements such as the one made on TikTok are “designed to encourage, inspire or entice others to carry out the threatened act, regardless of whether the speaker publicly intends to personally do so.”

Mellinger told Nexstar’s WOWK that this type of behavior cannot be tolerated, regardless of political affiliation.

“It’s OK to be critical of the government. It’s OK to be critical of things you don’t agree with, Mellinger said, “but when you start promoting the violence and you’re promoting a plan to carry out the violence and recruiting other people to carry out the plan for you, that’s clearly crossing the line.”

Mellinger said Sunday that making threatening statements about any public official is illegal according to West Virginia State code.

“This is not meant to be a political-oriented statement. This is an active criminal investigation with documented and troubling concerns,” he said.

Following the announcement of Morrow’s arrest, the Jackson County Public Library released a statement on social media saying that they were addressing the matter internally.

“The comments recently made by an employee do not reflect the mission, values, or standards of conduct of our organization,” the statement read in part.