The Establishment Burns the Bridge: TPUSA's Florida Purge and the End of Right-Wing Unity

The Official Crackdown: Guidelines and Hypocrisy

A debate in TPUSA UF's "Conservatives at UF," meant to be a free speech zone for students to discuss politics, exploded into a purge when students analyzed Zohran Mamdani's landslide 2025 NYC mayoral win, 50.4% of the vote, fueled by 62% support from foreign-born voters per NYT exit polls. Some students, members of TPUSA at UF and The College Republicans at UF, argued for hard legal immigration caps to halt demographic replacement. Establishment-aligned members began stating that these viewpoints against mass legal immigration were in alignment with the alternative right-wing views. The thread veered into endorsements of Tucker Carlson's October 27 Fuentes interview, where the duo dissected donor capture and forever wars. Upon confirming some students' support for Carlson's interview, they banned them from the chat. This is despite the fact that Tucker Carlson is a Turning Point member, a speaker at Amfest, and gave a eulogy at Charlie Kirk’s funeral.

One of the members who was banned was a former high-profile member of Turning Point, and he did not express any support for Tucker, Nick, or the interview. He had not spoken in the chat for two months prior to being banned. The only reason he was banned was that he was friends with people who had supported the interview.

Shortly after, the TPUSA chapter had issued its statement via group announcement: the group used “hate speech,” a made-up leftist term Charlie Kirk ardently condemned, as justification for banning some of our members and any other students in the future. Towards the end of the original message, they cited UF Administration "regarding individuals affiliated with right-wing extremist movements and their threats toward members of the UF community.” That is a serious claim and accusation, especially since our UF College Republican members were the only ones banned. If our members were truly threatening the “UF Community,” we would be the first to know, and we would be the first to expel them from our organization. Because we have not received any such communication from UF officials or even from Turning Point USA at UF, we have no reason to believe that these claims are legitimate. This message from Turning Point USA is the only mention of these claims anywhere and is not credible whatsoever.

These events show that Turning Point at UF refuses to hear our pleas for unity.

Lies and Reporter Expulsion

When a Florida Finibus reporter confronted a UF administrator regarding university mandates to remove members on ideological grounds, the official claimed ignorance: “No knowledge of that.” Yet TPUSA UF's statement explicitly attributed the bans to university directives, citing "communications from administration." Upon exposure, the reporter was immediately expelled from the chat; his access was revoked mid-conversation. Free speech, in this self-described “free speech zone,” appears to only extend to approved narratives.

The X Backlash: A Million Views in 24 Hours

The reaction to these events erupted on X just minutes after the announcement. The UF College Republicans (@UFCR) fired back at 1:01am, just 20 minutes after Turning Point at UF posted their statement at 12:41am: "TPUSAUF has censored and banned a large number of our members from their chat, citing 'hate speech' for the students’ support of Tucker Carlson and dedication to free speech. We are disappointed that a TPUSA chapter has chosen to censor and ban individuals with whom they disagree.”

The post exploded, with 342,104 views, 2,381 likes, and 452 reposts within 24 hours, igniting a firestorm. Many large creators, such as Elijah Schaffer, Auspilled, Sarah Stock, and Antunes, commented on the situation, calling it shameful. AF Post (@AFpost) amplified these sentiments: "The University of Florida Turning Point chapter has banned members for 'hate speech' after several of them expressed support for Tucker Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes.

On November 6, Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for Turning Point USA and the executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show, responded to the situation publicly by stating that the banning of our members was not part of a “national directive,” but rather conflicts at the “local chapter level.” His response does not endorse the actions of the club, nor does it outright condemn them. The UF College Republicans will, however, maintain pressure until the club faces real consequences for their censorship and disregard of conservative principles. This scorn will haunt the chapter until extensive action is taken to remedy the situation. While Kolvet denied that the actions were directed by the national organization, we are still awaiting a formal statement condemning them or solving the issue. As of November 6th, at 3:11pm, all of the students are still banned from the GroupMe.

Concluding Statements:

We sought unity by following the principles of Kirk. In August, after Wax's betrayal of his fellow conservative compatriots, conservatives like Matt Walsh tweeted calls for unity within the right-wing coalition, including members of the dissident right. We have followed suit, welcoming individuals of all beliefs, including those with controversial or unconventional viewpoints. Because of our dedication to free speech and open debate, our invitations to collaborate, organize joint campus events, and share fundraising efforts with Turning Point USA at UF have all been declined, as we have been cancelled by the student organization. 

They burned the bridge.. As conservative organizations on campus, we all claim to be free speech zones. TPUSA at UF has failed at their job and has adopted censorious tendencies and leftist tactics. They started using cancel culture language, like “hate speech,” that Charlie Kirk denounced. As conservatives, we firmly believe in the free exchange of ideas. We don’t push people into the dark corners of the internet. We believe that all people should be able to engage in civil debates if they so choose, and they should be respected and treated in a Christ-like way. The UF College Republicans believed they were one of many clubs on campus who thought this way, but unfortunately, until TPUSA can take control of this rogue chapter at the University of Florida, we are the only free speech group on campus.