Leaders of Young Republican groups through various parts of the country knew they’d be “cooked” if their racist Telegram chat remarks were ever made public. Today, Politico released the report.
Politico reporters discovered a trove of Telegram messages that spanned over seven months among Young Republican leaders in New York, Kansas, Arizona and Vermont, revealing how a new generation of Republican activists talk when they think no one is listening.
There are 2,900 pages of texts between a dozen Gen Z and millennial Republicans who are working on a hard-line pro-Trump platform. Some are working currently inside government or party politics. One is currently a state senator.
They talked about their enemies being raped, driven to suicide, and preferred Republicans who supported slavery. They joked about “watermelon people,” gas chambers, and loving Hitler — a culture of racist, antisemitic, and violent rhetoric freely thrown around.
Epithets like “f—-t,” “retarded” and “n–ga” appeared more than 251 times combined.
They sought Trump’s approval, seeking to escape the RINO label, and spoke of the love of Nazis within the Republican Party, and Trump’s effort to suppress the Epstein files.
There was also one exchange about how devoutly Catholic some chat members are and how often they attend church.
Who was involved?
William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair, used the words “n–ga” and “n–guh,” variations of a racial slur, more than a dozen times in the chat. Bobby Walker, the vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time, referred to rape as “epic.” Peter Giunta, who at the time was chair of the same organization, wrote in a message sent in June that “everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.”
(Giunta was referring to an upcoming vote to become chair of the organization.)
Giunta claimed the release is part of an intra-party character assassination led by Gavin Wax, who is currently a staffer in the Trump State Department.
“These logs were sourced by way of extortion and provided to POLITICO by the very same people conspiring against me,” he said. “What’s most disheartening is that, despite my unwavering support of President Trump since 2016, rouge [sic] members of his administration — including Gavin Wax — have participated in this conspiracy to ruin me publicly simply because I challenged them privately.”
Giunta eventually lost the race to become chair of the NY Young Republicans, despite the endorsements of Elise Stefanik and Roger Stone.
Other racist participants listed in the report:
- William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair
- Bobby Walker, the vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time
- Joe Maligno, who previously identified himself as the general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans
- Annie Kaykaty, New York’s national committee member
- Alex Dwyer, the chair of the Kansas Young Republicans
- Michael Bartels, who, according to his LinkedIn account, serves as a senior adviser in the office of general counsel within the U.S. Small Business Administration
- Samuel Douglass, a state senator from northern Vermont and the head of the state’s Young Republicans
- Rachel Hope, the Arizona Young Republicans events chair
- Luke Mosiman, the chair of the Arizona Young Republicans