Tuscaloosa Cyberstalker Sentenced to 3 Years After Guilty Plea

A Tuscaloosa man will spend more than three years in prison after a federal investigation found that he cyberstalked and threatened his ex-girlfriend on X last year.

According to a press release from North Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, the FBI launched an investigation into 27-year-old Kenneth Peter Hoover last January when they received a tip about his activities on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

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Hoover made several posts threatening to assault and kill his ex-girlfriend, Escalona said, prompting a response from the FBI National Threat Operations Center.

They notified the Tuscaloosa Police Department, who secured safe housing for the victim and, days later, arrested Hoover during a traffic stop.

"The investigation determined that Hoover had used Apple iMessage, Snapchat, and Venmo to harass and intimidate the victim, sending threatening and violent messages with the intent to injure, harass, or intimidate her," Escalona said in the press release.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel S. McBrayer prosecuted the case and ultimately, Hoover pleaded guilty to interstate threatening communications and cyberstalking.

Escalona said he was sentenced to 37 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Annmarie Axon.

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