As part of his “The American Comeback Tour,” on Friday, conservative media commentator Charlie Kirk visited the University of California, Riverside (UCR).
Hundreds of curious students, community members, supporters and protesters gathered outside the Bell Tower for the chance to debate Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Kirk.
TPUSA is a conservative “student movement” with chapters across over 3,500 university campuses. According to their website, TPUSA is a “501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to identify, educate, train and organize students to promote freedom.”
This “conservative youth groups” growing role on college campuses has sparked extreme criticisms. From their involvement in the January 6 Capitol insurrection to spreading “misinformation,” TPUSA is no stranger to controversy.
Kirk’s visit to UCR was no different, amassing a massive crowd of supporters — clad in Make America Great Again (MAGA) merchandise — protesters, toting signs opposing his presence and interested onlookers just wondering why the crowd gathered.
During his 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. event, Kirk invited select students to the microphone to debate some of his classic talking points, including the effectiveness of college, abortion accessibility, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration and the economy.
Protesting Kirk’s presence at UCR, music production group Tears of the Angelic attempted to host a punk show at the Bell Tower. However, they were stopped when one of the performers was detained by the UC Police Department (UCPD) for two hours.
Courtesy of Senna Omar, Editor-in-Chief / The Highlander
Members of the group explained that the police department said they could not perform at the Bell Tower, so they hatched a new plan to put on their punk show at the Aberdeen Inverness (AI) Knoll.
Once the group arrived, UCPD was already waiting on the Knoll to shut the show down. The cops told the performers and organizers they were not allowed to put on the punk show, and they needed to pack up and leave.
“We’re trying our best to have this show, but obviously, they keep pushing us out. Right now, we’re just trying to find a system, because we really don’t want to stop,” shared organizers of the Punk show. “[The show] was a peaceful protest. We weren’t gonna do anything loud or obnoxious. We were just gonna play music.”
Tears of the Angelic moved the show a second time to Hunter Park — about two miles off campus — and organized a shuttle system to taxi viewers to the park.
Inspired by a punk show thrown at Kirk’s tour event at San Francisco State, organizers explained, “It’s disappointing that we couldn’t get it on campus at all, because that was the original point. We saw it happening in San Francisco, and we figured, hey, it’d be cool if we do it here too.”
Although many students were unhappy with Kirk’s presence on campus, protester Jacks described, “Anything to do with Charlie Kirk is something we don’t like … but it’s all fair. He’s got a permit; it’s freedom of speech.” However, with the punk show getting shut down by UCPD Jacks expressed his discontent “We should be able to do whatever we want as well. [Kirk’s] out here, talking, yapping, spreading hate misinformation. I reckon we should be able to spread the truth.”
Prominent “White Lives Matter” advocate Kelly Johnson, also known as Kelly J. Patriot, was
easily spotted in the crowd outside the Bell Tower. Hoisting a large cross above the crowd, this Huntington Beach local has followed Kirk around his Southern California run of the tour.
Johnson spread four banners displaying prominent Christian conservative philosophies across the Bell Tower lawn, reading statements such as “Choose Life” and “Jesus Christ Saves.”
“They think we’re radical. They think we’re terrorists. We love our country. We love the Lord. We’re not the ones doing violence. Just look around who’s doing the violence. It’s folks on the other side of the street,” proclaimed Johnson. “So we’re here to see Charlie. It’s good to see the kids wake up … I’m glad kids are here to listen to what Charlie has to say, just so they can get another opinion, or maybe get the truth.”
Recently, Johnson was the focal point of a C5 film, “Dear Kelly” — a documentary portraying “his descent into the conspiracy rabbit-hole.” His prominent role in the “White Lives Matter” movement has sparked criticism from his daughter Kaylee Johnson, who opened up about her father’s radicalization in the documentary.
When speaking about his daughter, Johnson claimed that the left has indoctrinated her. “My daughter’s a little left … [the left is] trying to indoctrinate our kids. They’re trying to tear our families apart. They’re trying to get the girls to hate their fathers, and that’s worked really well with my family, with my lefty daughter, Kaylee, who’s up at UCLA. God bless her,” said Johnson.
In an interview with the Daily Bruin, Kaylee Johnson said, “This is not the man that I grew up with … That’s why I do say I am mourning the father that I had, even though he’s still alive.”
Hand in hand with one another, on the lawn of Watkins hall wearing white t-shirts that read statements such as “Bold hearts at play, brilliant minds in action,” “No one is illegal on stolen land,” “Abolish ICE” and “Community over everything” a group of students hosted a “community event” in protest to Kirk’s presence on campus.
“We decided that despite the current climate on campus, it’s important that we maintain a community amongst our peers that do not welcome [Kirk’s] presence,” explained an anonymous member of the community event. “We are a vibrant, strong community, and we deserve to just have a space where we can just coexist, have a good time with each other, and recognize that there is power within our community.”
Amari, a participant in the community event, expressed that “it’s a terrible look for UCR” as a Hispanic-serving institution to have Kirk on campus.
She described that while protesting, participants in the community event experienced harassment from multiple Kirk supporters. “Anytime [Kirk’s supporters] come up to us, we just ignore them. We don’t say anything to them, and they are so upset,” shared Amari. “It’s sad to see them calling people names here, just making fun of us for sitting in a circle and playing [games]. We are just minding our business at the event to understand the other side. But they are not trying to understand our side.”
Despite the opposition, organizers believe it was important to “cultivate a beautiful community environment. And this is what it’s all about. At the end of the day, we are a community. At the end of the day, we all belong at this institution. We deserve to be here. We are home. UCR is our home. And no matter what may be said, we deserve to be here.”
Seen hoisting a Palestinian flag above the sea of MAGA hats at the Bell Tower, Second-year biology student Omar described his disappointment with university officials for allowing Kirk to come to UCR.
“I came out here because I think fundamentally, there are some issues that he talks about that are incorrect, and I feel like they deprive students of their rights. One big thing that I disagree with Charlie Kirk on is the Israel-Palestine conflict,” explains Omar. “43,000 people have died. Two million people have been displaced. And [Kirk’s] not giving them an equal. He’s saying Palestinians should not have the right to exist. I’m completely against that.”
Despues Green, a third-year philosophy transfer student, was also among Kirk’s supporters. Green explained that although he could “care less about Charlie Kirk,” he was happy to see the crowds of Trump supporters toting MAGA merch.’
“I’m happy that we have people out here. I love to see our ladies in MAGA hats. I love to see our guys in Maga hats,” said Green. “There’s actually many times walking on this campus where I’ve had my MAGA hat on, and people are walking by and complimenting me. But I know that there are many people who are afraid to speak up, who are afraid to represent themselves, to show what they truly support, especially in such a blue state, such as California.”
Green especially thanked TPUSA for “coming over and just creating opportunities for more voices to be heard. Because there absolutely is a hegemony, a domination, of so-called liberal ideology, which aims to shut down people’s opinions.”
All TPUSA representatives at Kirk’s event declined to comment and were instructed not to speak with the press.
