Federal Grand Jury indicts man for attempted kidnapping and stalking of Memphis mayor
PRESS RELEASE FROM UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE (WDTN):
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A federal grand jury in the Western District of Tennessee has returned a two-count indictment charging Trenton Abston, 25, of Memphis, with the attempted kidnapping and stalking of Memphis Mayor Paul Young. United States Attorney D. Michael Dunavant, of the Western District of Tennessee, announced the return of the federal indictment today.
As alleged in the indictment and established in other court proceedings: On June 15, 2025, Abston drove his car and parked outside the mayor’s neighborhood. Abston then climbed an 8–10-foot privacy fence to avoid neighborhood security and used his phone to navigate on foot to the mayor’s home. Abston had rope and duct tape with him in the car and carried a taser with him in his hoodie. Abston then rang the doorbell of the mayor’s home at approximately 9:30 PM, while the mayor and his family were inside. The taser in Abston’s pocket was clearly visible on recorded doorbell camera footage. No one answered the door, and Abston left the area.
The Memphis Police Department was later able to identify Trenton Abston as the suspect and arrested him. Abston admitted to police that he went to the mayor’s home because he was angry and wanted to have a confrontation with the mayor. Police later found a storage unit belonging to Abston and found written surveillance notes where Abston noted the movements of the guards around the mayor’s neighborhood, as well as addresses, telephone numbers, and names of family members of Mayor Young and other local elected officials.
On June 20, 2025, officers found an Apple AirTag that Abston placed on the mayor’s official government vehicle. Police also discovered that this was not Abston’s first time stalking the mayor, and that Abston tried to physically force his way into the mayor’s office at City Hall on April 4, 2024.
Abston is federally charged with one count of attempted kidnapping and one count of stalking. The attempted kidnapping offense carries a sentence of up to 20 years, and the stalking offense carries a sentence of up to 5 years in federal prison. If Abston is convicted of the charged offenses, a federal judge will determine the sentence to impose on the defendant after considering the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal system.
Abston was originally charged by criminal information in the Shelby County Criminal Court, Division 10, with the Class D Felony offense of Attempted Kidnapping. On April 14, 2026, the defendant entered a best interest Alford plea of guilty as charged. After a lengthy sentencing hearing, the state Criminal Court Judge placed the defendant on judicial diversion probation for a period of 4 years, with Community Corrections supervision and other conditions of release, over the objection of the state prosecutor. Under applicable state law, if the defendant successfully complies with the conditions of his term of judicial diversion probation and supervision, he will be eligible to have the original charge dismissed and his criminal record expunged.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, “Targeting elected officials for political violence is dangerous and absolutely unacceptable, and this office has zero tolerance for such threatening conduct. Because the state court disposition is manifestly inadequate to vindicate the substantial federal interests of the United States to prioritize and protect the safety of public officials, the defendant must be charged and held accountable under federal law.”
This case was investigated by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Memphis Police Department (MPD).
Assistant United States Attorneys J. William Crow and Gavin A. Smith are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations of criminal conduct, not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.
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