Ryan Fournier, co-founder of Students for Trump and a prominent Donald Trump ally, is facing a seven-count felony indictment in Washington DC accusing him of a violent assault on his girlfriend of two months, along with claims that he threatened another woman and pointed a gun at a former partner. Federal prosecutors say the 30-year-old activist, who built Students for Trump into a 350-chapter network and worked closely with the late Charlie Kirk, has been held without bond since 2 July. The case matters because it exposes a widening gap between Fournier's high-profile political persona, with roughly a million followers on X, and serious allegations of domestic violence and witness intimidation.

According to a court filing obtained by the Daily Mail, Fournier allegedly punched, pulled the hair of and struck his girlfriend during an incident at his Washington apartment on 25 May, at one point brandishing a switchblade and telling her "you're going to die tonight". He was initially arrested on misdemeanor charges after allegedly shouting threats and swinging a vacuum cleaner, but prosecutors say he then pressured associates to falsely back a self-defence account, threatening one man with deportation and career ruin, and a woman with false claims that she was the aggressor. Prosecutors have also produced a photograph allegedly showing Fournier pointing a gun at a former girlfriend in 2020. Fournier has pleaded not guilty to all charges, has been offered a plea deal with a deadline of 11 September, and is due to stand trial on 8 October.