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Who is Ryan Fournier? 5 shocking accusations against Students for Trump leader made by girlfriend
Ryan Fournier, co-founder of Students for Trump, faces a seven-count indictment for assaulting his girlfriend.
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Ryan Fournier, the co-founder of Students for Trump and a prominent conservative activist, is facing a seven-count indictment in Washington, DC, after prosecutors accused him of assaulting his girlfriend, making threats and attempting to influence witnesses. The allegations, detailed in a September 1 court filing, include claims from a former girlfriend dating back several years.
Fournier, 30, co-founded Students for Trump in 2015 while he was a student at Campbell University. The group grew into a network with about 350 chapters, according to the report. He has also built a following of roughly one million people on X and has been involved in youth advocacy supporting Donald Trump since 2016.
Fournier has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is scheduled to go on trial on October 8 before DC Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment, according to the report.
Here are five of the most serious allegations contained in the court filing.
1. Prosecutors say he assaulted his girlfriend
The case stems from an alleged confrontation at Fournier's downtown Washington apartment on May 25.
According to prosecutors, as reported by Daily Mail, Fournier was intoxicated and asleep when his girlfriend, whom he had been dating for about two months, tried to wake him. Prosecutors allege he responded by punching her in the arms, grabbing her hair and knocking her to the ground before hitting her in the face.
The filing says he then allegedly pulled out a switchblade and held it at his side while telling her, “You're going to die tonight.” Prosecutors acknowledge that he did not raise the knife at her.
2. He allegedly threatened to kill people during the confrontation
Police were called to Fournier's apartment in the early hours of May 26. An arrest affidavit says he allegedly shouted, “I'll kill everyone here,” and threatened to crush someone's head with a lamp while swinging a handheld vacuum.
He was initially arrested on misdemeanor charges of simple assault and attempted threats to do bodily harm. He was released that day under a court order requiring him to stay away from his girlfriend and have no contact with her.
3. Prosecutors accuse him of trying to build a false self-defense story
The allegations did not end with the initial arrest.
According to the September 1 filing, Fournier later asked an associate to tell police that his girlfriend had attacked him, even though the woman had not witnessed the alleged assault. Prosecutors say he also asked her to make social-media posts portraying the girlfriend negatively.
The woman refused, saying she did not want to provide police with false information.
4. He allegedly threatened another woman with deportation or death
Prosecutors further allege that Fournier threatened another person who refused to support his version of events.
The court filing says he told the woman that he could use his political connections to have her deported or have someone kill her if she spoke negatively about him. He allegedly also presented what she believed was an M-16 rifle; investigators later determined it was a replica.
The woman reportedly waited before attempting to leave because she feared he might hurt her. Prosecutors allege Fournier subsequently grabbed her wrists, pushed her onto a bed and pinned her down with his knee before she managed to get away.
5. A former girlfriend accused him of repeated abuse
The filing also contains allegations from a woman who dated Fournier for years before their relationship ended in 2025.
Prosecutors say she told investigators that Fournier pointed a firearm at her in 2020 and that she managed to photograph the incident. The filing includes a grainy photograph that prosecutors identify as showing Fournier pointing a gun toward her.
She also alleged that Fournier struck her in the face with a glass object in 2021, leaving a scar, and hit her in the head with a drinking glass about a year later. She additionally described an incident at a Florida hotel in which she said he struck her with an object, leaving a large bruise.
Fournier was arrested in North Carolina in November 2023 after being accused of grabbing the same woman's arm and striking her forehead with a 9mm pistol. He denied wrongdoing, was never convicted and the charges were dropped the following month.
Prosecutors now want the allegations admitted at his Washington trial, arguing they could show a pattern in which Fournier blamed alleged victims and claimed self-defense. Judge McLean has not ruled on that request.
