An unidentified pink-haired student at the University of Arizona (U of A) gave a death threat to Turning Point USA (TPUSA) students.
The student had a male-presenting voice and wore sunglasses, a long pink dress, light pink jacket, black and white sneakers, and a canvas backpack.
The student’s voice and the type of shoes worn in the video that captured his threat — Puma Zip C men’s sneakers — indicated that the student was a male.
Per a video captured by those present, the student threatened those working the TPUSA table with the same fate that befell the late TPUSA founder and CEO, Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated by a gunshot through the neck last month at Utah Valley University.
Kirk was one month shy of 32 years old at the time of his death. The prominent young conservative activist and pundit left behind a wife, Erika Kirk, and two young children. The individual arrested and charged for Kirk’s assassination, Tyler Robinson, held progressive political beliefs and was in a romantic relationship with a male who identified as a transgender woman.
“Hey Nazis, can you set up somewhere I can avoid you easily?” said the student.
“Yeah, have a great day,” responded one of the TPUSA individuals behind the table.
“Ah, f**k you Nazi. Watch your neck,” responded the student.
The individual who captured the threat on video, TPUSA field representative Caden Hart, reported that, aside from the incident, their tabling efforts yielded over 25 new signups for their chapter.
Besides this situation, tabling today was full of great conversations and interactions! • Thanks to our @tpusastudents at the University of Arizona we ended the day with 25+ signups! https://t.co/KnCa2N7s7k
There is a closed hearing scheduled for Friday at the Utah County Courthouse for Kirk’s alleged killer, and a waiver hearing next week. The proceedings will remain “open to the public,” per the judge in the case. Robinson may receive the death penalty if found guilty.
Some point to this recent incident with the TPUSA table as indicative of the political climate at U of A, and associated it with a reported 19 percent drop in first-year students.
The university associated the decline with a dropping number of out-of-state and international students (23 percent less out-of-state students, nine percent less international students); overall student enrollment fell about four percent.
While hundreds in the U of A community mourned Kirk’s assassination, some have been outspoken about their indifference or even support for his death.
Yazmin Castro, a freshman and member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta, told AZPM that Kirk bore some responsibility for his own assassination since he was vocal about his conservative beliefs, which included his support for gun ownership.
“I think he was very hateful sometimes with his views,” said Castro. “I hope that the people that believed in those views as well, seeing someone that they looked up to being a victim of gun violence, I hope it opens their eyes to its not worth it,” she said.
A recent U of A graduate and Arizona Department of Environmental Quality employee, Jessika Mesa, posted a celebration of Kirk’s death on her social media page.
Jessika Mesa who has recently graduate from the University Of Arizona posted some hate regarding Charlie Kirk.
Tucson Councilwoman Lane Santa Cruz, an adjunct professor at U of A, responded to Kirk’s death with a story on social media that read “diosito te maldiga,” meaning “God curse (damn) you.”
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Several Northern Arizona University (NAU) students were captured on film targeting a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) table with vandalization, theft, and threats of violence.
These incidents occurred in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the organization’s founder and former CEO. Kirk was assassinated last month during an open-air debate event at Utah Valley University.
Frontlines, the public awareness and news group associated with TPUSA, published footage of the incidents. The footage came from the field representative that advises the NAU chapter, Susie Sullivan.
In one video, a student pushed all the merchandise off the TPUSA chapter’s table before stealing a sign. In another video, a different student handed the table volunteers a note with a drawn depiction of Kirk’s assassination and an implied threat that those who share Kirk’s beliefs — or, Christians, which the individual characterized as “Nazis” — deserve death.
“A good Nazi is a dead one,” said the note. “Free speech!”
WATCH: As the Northern Arizona University @tpusastudents chapter conducted a tabling on campus, a student walked and swiped their merchandise off the table and onto the ground before stealing their sign. @TPUSA
The wife of NAU President Joe Luis Cruz Rivera and professor at NAU’s honors college, Rima Brusi, called Kirk (alluded to as “person X”) “morally repugnant” and “a bad person” following his assassination and preceding his memorial service in Phoenix, while acknowledging that his murder was “morally wrong” in a Facebook post:
“I’m honestly perplexed (not surprised but perplexed) at how many don’t seem to get this bit of logic but for what it’s worth, here it goes: 1) Murdering (including murdering person X) is wrong and 2) person X was demonstrably and consistently a bad person—these two statements are NOT mutually exclusive and almost any human brain should be able to handle both at the same time. Saying that ‘those who say X was a bad person who did damage are celebrating his murder’ is propaganda, not a logical conclusion — except when ‘those’ are truly ‘rejoicing’ (not just pointing out basic facts showing that X was a bad human, or reminding us of facts such as ‘the murder of W and Z went unacknowledged’). Anyway — perhaps those intent in erasing history from our classrooms would be open to the idea of adding ‘intro to philosophy: logic’ to the the curriculum. As ‘objective’ (and classic) a subject as they come. Don’t obey in advance. Buy and protect books for later sharing. Take screenshots of news in case they ‘disappear’. Download the contents of science databases. Support your librarian. Make truth and fact-checking as habitual and natural as teeth-brushing and food. Because truth IS nourishment, its protection is healthy, and its friends (science, research, literature, and why not – Wikipedia!) are our friends. Truth and fact-checking are the new and real herd immunity.”
TPUSA has reported over 62,000 new chapter requests from high school and college students since Kirk’s assassination. There are around 27,000 high schools and around 4,000 degree-granting postsecondary institutions, according to data from the National Center for Educational Statistics.
In other words: the amount of requests received to establish TPUSA chapters, if all nonduplicative and approved, would cover every single high school and postsecondary institution in the nation.
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A late-September voter registration drive at Arizona State University (ASU) was a resounding success last week, just five days after a tragic stabbing rocked the ASU West Campus in Glendale. At ASU’s Memorial Union the “Greeks for Trump” voter registration drive, which featured Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk and Republican Senate nominee Kari Lake, saw campaign staffers handing out ‘MAGA’ hats, t-shirts, and hot chicken from Raising Cane’s according to the State Press.
Posting to X on the day of the event, Kirk wrote, “Today we hosted a Voter Registration event at ASU with another MASSIVE turnout. Thousands of students showed up and HUNDREDS of new Gen Z voters got registered. The campus energy this year is unreal. This is how we win.”
Today we hosted a Voter Registration event at ASU with another MASSIVE turnout.
Thousands of students showed up and HUNDREDS of new Gen Z voters got registered.
Speaking with the outlet, Lake told reporters, “We’re going to get you registered to vote. We’re going to save our country, and we’re going to Make America Great Again.”
Approximately 100 people were at the event at any given time with students coming and going throughout. College Republicans at ASU shared video of Lake tossing hats to the crowd of attendees.
Kirk later shared the reactions of detractors to the event in a post on X:
“Campus leftists at ASU were very confused when they saw the sea of students that came out to our voter registration event today wearing MAGA hats:
‘I was very disturbed seeing all the MAGA hats everywhere today…confused why there were so many…’
‘Made my stomach turn a lil tbh’
‘I’m scared’
We’re barnstorming the country visiting 22 campuses this fall, registering hundreds of Gen Z voters at every stop. I’d be scared if I was them too. And we’re only getting stronger.”
This is too good not to share. Campus leftists at ASU were very confused when they saw the sea of students that came out to our voter registration event today wearing MAGA hats:
However, according to Turning Point Action volunteer Ruby Halperinn, not everyone at the event was having fun. She reported via X, “As I was registering voters today at ASU, a radical leftist threw their whole beverage on me and ran away. THIS IS THE LEFT. They know we are winning this election and it scares them.”
As I was registering voters today at ASU, a radical leftist threw their whole beverage on me and ran away.
THIS IS THE LEFT.
They know we are winning this election and it scares them.
Lake responded to Halperinn with encouragement saying, “They know that thousands of kids at every university are registering Republican. They know that they are losing the young vote because young Americans know their future is on the line and it’s the America First Republican party that wants to make their future great again.”
Turning Point USA’s Morgonn McMichael described the crowd at the Memorial Union as being “HUNDREDS of students.”
Afonso Machado, a freshman volunteer and Political Science student, told the State Press, “We need you to register to vote, we need you to engage so we can show America that this conservative movement is growing.”
The effort continued well after the initial event last Wednesday with Nick Moore posting on Sunday that the Sigma Nu fraternity had dozens of members register at a Tempe event with Lake. He wrote, “Dozens more fraternity members registered to vote tonight in Tempe, Arizona. Thank you Sigma Nu for having @KariLake for a tour of the Greek Leadership Village at ASU and the opportunity cast her vision for your future. Vote Kari Lake for U.S. Senate on November 5th!”
Dozens more fraternity members registered to vote tonight in Tempe, Arizona.
Thank you Sigma Nu for having @KariLake for a tour of the Greek Leadership Village at ASU and the opportunity cast her vision for your future.
The most recent registered voter statistics from the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office showed Republicans leading Democrats in registered voters by 259,270 and Independents by 59,668.
GOP State Representative Austin Smith (LD29) dropped out of his reelection race abruptly on Thursday, days after allegations surfaced that he had forged petition signatures to qualify for the ballot.
In a lengthy press release announcing his resignation, Smith downplayed the allegations — outlined in a lawsuit against him — as an unsubstantiated, coordinated attack by Democrats.
Smith is member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, and the senior director of Turning Point Action. Smith said that the plaintiffs — Democratic Party officials — were falsely accusing him of forging the signatures of Democrats on his petition sheets. Such an act of forgery would be pointless, given that signatures from Democratic voters wouldn’t count for a Republican primary.
Some questioned whether the two Democrats leading the lawsuit had signed the petition themselves with the intent of accusing Smith of election fraud.
Rather than pay to fight the lawsuit and any criminal investigations that may arise, Smith said that he would protect his family financially and drop out of the race.
Smith pledged to run for office again in the future, but would rely on the online signature system rather than paper ballots.
“I feel terrible for those who are disappointed in this outcome or in me for not fighting it until the end,” said Smith. “I hope you’ll understand that my decisions are about more than just me.”
Those found guilty of petition forgery are disqualified immediately and may not run for public office for five years.
Smith also announced that another man had agreed to run in his stead as a write-in candidate for the Republican primary: James Taylor.
Taylor lives in Litchfield Park and has been heavily involved in the LD29 GOP.
One Democratic official behind the lawsuit, James “Jim” Ashurst, serves on the LD29 Democrats board as the sergeant at arms.
The Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (ADLCC), a project of the Arizona Democratic Party, first announced the lawsuit against Smith on Monday, the day the lawsuit was filed.
The ADLCC — co-founded by Governor Katie Hobbs in 2012 when she was in the state legislature and Republicans held a supermajority — then fundraised off of the lawsuit announcement.
The Republican Party of Arizona (AZGOP) issued a statement lamenting Smith’s resignation, but expressing confidence in Taylor’s abilities to take over. The AZGOP didn’t address Smith’s alleged election fraud.
“We hate to lose an effective legislator like Austin Smith, but I’m glad James Taylor is on the team,” said the AZGOP. “He will be an excellent candidate for LD29 and the local, county, and state parties will do all we can to help. Austin will continue to do great things for Arizona.”
We hate to lose an effective legislator like Austin Smith, but I'm glad James Taylor is on the team. He will be an excellent candidate for LD29 and the local, county, and state parties will do all we can to help. Austin will continue to do great things for Arizona. #LD29
State Representative Rachel Jones defended Smith as a victim of Democratic “target[ing] and sabotag[e].” Jones cautioned against Republicans speaking ill of Smith.
“So before you self-righteous Republicans join the left to crucify him, maybe try to remember that those of us who fight the hardest for you have the biggest targets on our backs,” said Jones.
@azaustinsmith has more integrity and heart than anyone I know! Democrats targeted and sabotaged him. So before you self-righteous Republicans join the left to crucify him, maybe try to remember that those of us who fight the hardest for you have the biggest targets on our backs. https://t.co/FW2rCFzUfI
— AZ Representative Rachel Jones (@RJ4arizona) April 18, 2024
Not all Republican leaders were as supportive of Smith.
Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman called for Smith to resign.
“This is a man who has lied to the people of Legislative District 29 and the entire state about our election operations for at least three years,” said Hickman. “He is now accused of lying about the signatures he personally collected to get on the ballot again.”
Turning Point Action has yet to release a statement on the allegations against Smith or his dropping out of the race.
Instead, the organization has focused on its hire of “ballot chasers” in Arizona and other states. These “ballot chasers” go door-to-door in battleground states contacting Republican voters who have received their mail-in ballots, and encouraging those voters to mark their ballots and make a plan to vote.
BIG NEWS! At Turning Point Action we have been laser focused on Arizona and Wisconsin the last year.
We now have the largest full-time staff in both states and are adding hundreds more bodies on the ground chasing ballots in each. Bodies = BALLOTS!
Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow sided with the professor who attacked two men questioning him about his involvement in drag story hours, casting them as “bullies.”
In a statement on Saturday, Crow accused the two men working with Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a right-wing activist organization, of following, harassing, pushing, and injuring David Boyles, an English professor and the founder of Drag Story Hour Arizona. Crow claimed that the TPUSA men were lying in wait for Boyles to attack him.
“It is astounding to me that individuals from Turning Point USA would wait for an ASU instructor to come out of his class to follow him, harass him and ultimately shove him to the ground, bloodying his face,” said Crow. “This is the kind of outrageous conduct that you would expect to see from bullies in a high school cafeteria.”
Crow also claimed that the TPUSA men “ran away” from the scene before police arrived.
Crow’s claims conflict with the video evidence produced by both TPUSA and ASU law enforcement, the latter which the president included in his statement and said he reviewed multiple times.
In the surveillance footage, Boyles lunges and grabs at the TPUSA individual holding his camera. The other TPUSA individual, Frontlines reporter Kalen D’Almeida, pushes Boyles away from his peer in response. After Boyles stands up, Boyles and the TPUSA men walk in the same direction off camera. Nobody ran in the footage provided, and all left the scene of the incident together at an unhurried pace.
Crow denounced TPUSA as a whole, declaring that endeavors like the Boyles interview and the organization’s Professor Watchlist were “antisemitic, anti-LGBTQ+, and misogynistic” exploitations to generate fundraising and social media engagement.
A separate video of the incident from TPUSA showed that the two men approached Boyles, with one remaining silent while filming and the other asking questions. The question that appeared to have Boyles lunge for the camera regarded sodomizing minor males.
“Also, I was taking a look at your Substack, and it seems like you really, really hate Americans? Like you just are disgusted by Americans in this country,” said D’Almeida. “And it’s funny because, you would like to see a different America exist where little boys are sodomized by people like you, right?”
ASU President Crow was quick to issue a statement defending this professor, who clearly hit first. Physical violence is never ok.
Death to Israel rallies on campus this week received no response from the administration. https://t.co/ANvQvN778q
Boyles’ beliefs were detailed on his Substack, now hidden behind a paywall.
In an Instagram post, Boyles claimed that the men “shouted” at him and accused them of terrorism.
“One filmed on his phone while the other shouted horrible and incendiary things at me, repeating standard right-wing nonsense about Drag Story Hour and also accusing me personally of pedophilia and hating America,” wrote Boyles. “[I feel] angry, violated, embarrassed and despairing at the fact that we have come to normalize this kind of harassment and violence.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
