FBI, NCIS bust former midshipman for alleged online threat against US Naval Academy

A former midshipman was arrested by authorities after allegedly sending an online threat through social media involving the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Jackson Fleming, 23, of Chesterton, Indiana, was charged with one count of transmitting a threat in interstate communication, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana.

Fleming was arrested Friday on suspicion of sending an online threat concerning the Naval Academy a day earlier through a social media application, officials said. He was charged Sunday.

First responders and police gather near an intersection at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., during a lockdown after reports of gunfire Sept. 11, 2025. (WTTG)

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The alleged threat, sent Thursday, appears to coincide with a security incident that happened at the academy on the same day.

The Naval Academy was placed on lockdown, and one person was injured while Naval Security Forces were clearing a building.

Armed officers walk along a sidewalk near a building at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., after reports of a threat and gunfire prompted a lockdown Sept. 11, 2025. (WTTG)

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According to an internal email obtained by Fox News from Capt. David Forman, deputy commandant of midshipmen, a midshipman who mistook authorized law enforcement as a threat engaged and was injured in the process.

The initial threat allegedly stemmed from a threat posted on the anonymous chat platform Yodel and was traced to a separated midshipman at his parents’ home in the Midwest, Fox News Digital previously reported.

Authorities patrol a sidewalk along the waterfront at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., amid reports of an active threat on campus Sept. 11, 2025. (WTTG)

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While a Naval Academy spokesperson declined to comment to Fox News Digital Tuesday on a connection between Fleming’s arrest and the security incident, the spokesperson confirmed Fleming was a midshipman at the Naval Academy from June 30, 2021, to Jan. 5, 2024.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), with assistance from the Porter County Sheriff’s Office, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey, Jasmine Baehr and Lucas Y. Tomlinson contributed to this report.