A private Telegram chat among leaders of Young Republican groups across the country reveals members referring to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people,” musing about putting political opponents in gas chambers, and joking about rape.
The messages are part of a voluminous log of Telegram chats obtained by POLITICO, spanning over seven months and 2,900 pages among millennial and Gen Z Republican leaders in New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont. The chat provides an unfiltered view into the private discussions of a new generation of GOP activists, many of whom work in government or party politics.
In the chat, William Hendrix, vice chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, used variations of a racial slur more than a dozen times. Bobby Walker, then-vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans, described rape as “epic.” Peter Giunta, at the time the chair of the same New York organization, wrote in June that “everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.” He was referring to an upcoming vote on his bid to lead the Young Republican National Federation, a 15,000-member GOP organization for Republicans aged 18 to 40.
“Im going to create some of the greatest physiological torture methods known to man. We only want true believers,” Giunta continued.
In response, Joe Maligno, then-general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans, wrote, “Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic.” Annie Kaykaty, New York’s national committeewoman, added, “I’m ready to watch people burn now.”
Since POLITICO began making inquiries, Hendrix is no longer employed at the Kansas attorney general’s office, and Walker’s job offer to manage a congressional campaign was rescinded. Prominent New York Republicans, including Rep. Elise Stefanik and state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, have condemned the comments and called for resignations. The leak has also ignited public recriminations, escalating internal resentments into accusations of character assassination and extortion.
The chat, titled “RESTOREYR WAR ROOM,” chronicles the group’s campaign to seize control of the national Young Republican organization on a hardline pro-Donald Trump platform. The messages reveal a culture where racist, antisemitic, and violent rhetoric was used freely, reflecting a loosening of political norms in the Trump era.
The members frequently used epithets such as “f—-t,” “retarded,” and “n–ga,” which appeared a combined total of more than 251 times. In one exchange, after Giunta mentioned his flight landed safely, he advised, “If your pilot is a she and she looks ten shades darker than someone from Sicily, just end it there. Scream the no no word.” When a member asked if New Yorkers were watching an NBA playoff game, Giunta responded, “I’d go to the zoo if I wanted to watch monkey play ball.”
In his response to the leak, Giunta apologized but claimed it was part of a “highly-coordinated year-long character assassination led by Gavin Wax and the New York City Young Republican Club.” He alleged the logs were “sourced by way of extortion” and may have been doctored. Wax, a former Trump administration staffer, declined to comment.
Walker also apologized, stating, “There is no excuse for the language and tone in messages attributed to me. The language is wrong and hurtful.” He suggested the messages “may have been altered, taken out of context, or otherwise manipulated.”
The rhetoric in the chat often mirrored that of prominent right-wing figures and former President Trump. A White House spokesperson rejected any connection, stating, “Only an activist, left-wing reporter would desperately try to tie President Trump into a story about a random groupchat he has no affiliation with.”
Nazi and white supremacist symbols and language also appeared. When Alex Dwyer, chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, was informed that a Michigan group would vote for “the most right wing person,” Giunta replied, “Great. I love Hitler.” In another instance, Dwyer guessed a hotel room number was “1488,” a numeric combination used by white supremacists. Giunta also spoke approvingly of a Teenage Republican group, stating, “They support slavery and all that shit. Mega based.”
The vitriol was also directed at political rivals within the party. The group referred to Hayden Padgett, who defeated Giunta for the national chairmanship, as “Hayden F—-t” and “Adolf Padgette.” One member, Luke Mosiman of Arizona, wrote, “RAPE HAYDEN.” Padgett condemned the language, stating that “such behavior is entirely inconsistent with our values.”
Samuel Douglass, a Vermont state senator, and his wife Brianna Douglass, the state’s national committeewoman, were also involved in the chat. In one exchange discussing a Jewish colleague of Padgett’s, Brianna wrote, “I was about to say you’re giving nationals to (sic) much credit and expecting the Jew to be honest.”
The participants seemed occasionally aware of the potential consequences if their discussions were made public. While joking about bombing the national convention, Walker added, “Just kidding for our assigned FBI tracker.”
In another moment of reflection, he wrote, “If we ever had a leak of this chat we would be cooked fr fr.”
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