Charlie Kirk Met With 'Fascist' Chants During University Visit

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Charlie Kirk, founder and president of the conservative student group Turning Point USA, was met with chants of "fascist" during a visit to Northern Arizona University (NAU) on Tuesday, as shown by clips shared on social media.

Kirk, 29, was visiting the campus at the Arizona university for an open debate titled, "Prove me wrong: The government is lying to you," in which the commentator was expected to discuss "cultural and political issues." The event was free to attend and open to both NAU students and the wider public.

But Kirk, who has forged strong ties to Donald Trump and his family, was greeted at the university campus by a crowd of protesters, chanting "fascist" and holding signs reading "F*** you, fascist," and "Trans rights = human rights."

Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk speaks at the opening of the Turning Point Action conference on July 15, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Florida. The conservative was met with chants of "fascist" when he arrived at Northern Arizona... Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A video shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, by Jack Posobiec, a far-right activist who has more than 2 million followers on the platform, shows a crowd of students yelling "F*** you, fascist."

"BREAKING: Charlie Kirk laughs as mob of smelly, overweight SJWs (social justice warriors) scream 'F*** You, Fascist! F*** You Fascist!'" wrote Posobiec.

Another clip shared by Ron Filipkowski, a former attorney and editor-in-chief at news media outlet MeidasTouch, shows Kirk standing in the middle of the crowd of students protesting his presence on the NAU campus. Kirk can be seen smiling and waving while several students make obscene gestures. The founders of MeidasTouch used to also run a political action committee (PAC) with a similar name, but that has not existed for some time, according to the news outlet.

In another part of the video, Kirk—who had set up a booth on campus for his open debate—appears unable to deliver a speech due to protesters making a noise right in front of him. In the clip, nobody appears to be there to engage in conversation with him.

Newsweek contacted Turning Point USA and the organizer of the NAU debate for comment by email on Wednesday.

A post shared on social media and then published on Reddit shows that the protest against Kirk was organized by students ahead of his visit, calling for fellow protesters to bring pots, pans and wooden spoons, as well as other "noise makers," to the demonstration, which they dubbed "Shut up fascist."

Kirk has claimed that there were more supporters than protesters at the NAU campus. "Dear Mediaite," he wrote on X in response to an article by Mediaite reporting on the protests. "You might want to watch this video and reconsider your headline. We had more supporters than opposition today." The headline highlighted the negative chants that were directed towards him.

The clip shows people shouting "Charlie" over the chant of "fascist."

Kirk shared another image from the student action in Arizona, showing a crowd of students, most of whom were women, protesting his presence, and used it to blame educated women for allegedly "ruining" the country.

"Angry, indoctrinated college women will ruin America if we let them," he wrote.

Correction, 9/21/2023 6:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated because it incorrectly identified MeidasTouch as a PAC instead of a news organization.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more