Texas man charged with terroristic threat against Charlie Kirk vigil at UTSA

A 19-year-old man, Xaelyn Dunbar, was arrested on a terroristic threat charge after authorities say he posted social media comments hours before a Charlie Kirk vigil at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The event drew roughly 1,000 attendees that evening, as Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder, had been assassinated earlier in the week. Dunbar is charged with making a terroristic threat by intentionally and knowingly threatening to commit violence.

The threats surfaced on the Facebook page of the San Antonio Young Republicans, which promoted the UTSA campus vigil for Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University. In the posts, Dunbar allegedly wrote, "This is a disgrace and I can tell you right now ima make sure this won’t be a good nor comforting vigil yall watch and see. Ima make this a movie … me and my truck." When another user pressed him, he reportedly replied, "You’ll see tmr I jus wouldn’t advise tryna stop a Ford 250 Diesel truck. Show yall how much Charlie really means." The comments were flagged by the Southwest Texas Fusion Center, an interagency intelligence hub run by the San Antonio Police Department, and relayed to UTSA Police.

Dunbar was intercepted that evening at his Sagebrush Apartments on the northeast side of the city after an UTSA captain alerted SAPD. He admitted posting the Facebook comments and acknowledged they could be seen as threatening, but said he was "being dumb" and "clowning around," according to the affidavit. He reportedly told officers, "Even if I’m 19 years old, that doesn’t mean I won’t still act like a kid." Asked whether the threats were worth criminal charges, he replied, "If that’s what it takes, I did what I did, and I can take the consequences," the affidavit states. Dunbar remains in the Bexar County Jail on a $40,000 bond.

UTSA officials and local police ensured a larger remote campus presence during the vigil, and authorities noted that the threat appeared to be isolated to Dunbar and not tied to any organized group. The incident comes as communities across the country grieve the loss of Kirk and reflect on safety around campus political events, including vigils held in his memory after his death.

Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist who leads Turning Point USA, was killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University. Vigils and memorial services were held nationwide in the days following his death, underscoring heightened sensitivities around political action and safety for activists on college campuses.