Trigger Warning: This story mentions antisemitic, ableist, homophobic and Islamophobic speech and gestures.
Audio story by Makena Locsin.
Some students and residents held American flags in the rain and sported patriotic colors in a line weaving around the Performing Arts Center. Others held up soggy cardboard signs and chanted, “We can’t sleep, we can’t rest, Turning Point wants us dead.”
The event was Turning Point USA, or TPUSA’s, latest stop on their “America: Love It or Leave It” tour and featured conservative activists Will Witt and Riley Gaines, YouTuber and journalist Nick Shirley and former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. The event doors opened around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Performing Arts Center on Cal Poly’s campus.
Ally Appel, a political science junior and the president of Cal Poly’s TPUSA chapter, opened the event referencing Charlie Kirk’s belief in promoting civil dialogue and saying “what is truly true.”
“Charlie also emphasized the importance of having differing beliefs while still respectfully engaging with and recognizing the humanity of each other,” Appel said.
After Appel, Gaines and Witt came to the stage and covered more divisive topics such as gender identity and Islam.
Witt spoke about gender and used the Boy Scouts of America’s name change to Scouting America as an example of a “leftist pattern.”
“The left destroys everything it touches,” Witt said. “They only know how to take something else, pervert it and destroy it.”
He used a transphobic slur in mocking the organization.
“They could go create their little tr— commie scouts if they wanted to,” Witt said.
Gaines spoke about her concern with recent protests in France.
“The whole entirety of Paris is on fire, burning down beautiful historic buildings,” Gaines said. “These are radical Islamists.”
Moments later, Gaines said Sharia Law, the religious law that informs Islamic tradition, is “rooted in child marriages, honor killings [and] pedophilia.”
Amir Saatchi, the president of the Muslim Student Association, condemned both Gaines and Witt’s remarks as Islamophobic and an unfair representation of the Islamic faith or Muslims.
“As people of faith, we should use our platforms to confront injustices rather than scapegoat people of different beliefs,” Saatchi wrote in a message to Mustang News.
Gabbard ended the event with extensive discussion on the importance of voting in the upcoming election.
“We are the ones that have the power to hire and fire politicians,” Gabbard said. “They work for us, not the other way around.”
Student protest in response to TPUSA presence
Before the event began, protestors stood in the rain to voice their disapproval of the event. Several signs and chants called the event racist and fascist.
Protesters remained outside in the rain and chanted slogans such as, “They want war, we want peace. We want Donald Trump impeached” and “Are we great yet?” as the attendees made their way inside the PAC.
Around 70 protesters cut through the general admissions line and lined up along the PAC circle, right behind a sign that read “Free Speech 1st Amendment Area.”
Protesters carried signs reading “The world needs more love,” “Stop hate speech,” “Stop pretending your racism is patriotism,” “Protect queer youth” and “Keep hate out of Cal Poly.”
Protesters interacted with attendees throughout the evening, including various attendees doing the Nazi salute towards the protesters as the protesters chanted “No IDF, no KKK, no fascist USA.”
READ MORE: Turning Point USA’s ‘America: Love It or Leave It Tour’ brought Nazi salutes and snipers to campus
Charli Fallon, an environmental management and protection junior, helped organize the protest. Fallon said they protested because TPUSA does not represent the marginalized communities at Cal Poly.
“This is our campus and should serve us,” Fallon said.
Another protester, Jillian, said TPUSA does not represent a majority of students on campus and their messaging comes from a place of hate.
“I’m here today because immigrant students, students of color, queer students and everybody that TPUSA stands against deserves to feel safe and welcome on our campus,” Jillian said.
Officials announced the PAC was full at 6:37 p.m. and told attendees no more seats were available. Several attendees lingered regardless.
One protester yelled at attendees still outside the PAC that they were immigrants and asked whose land they were on.
Two protesters wearing Donald Trump masks made their way to the front of the PAC and began doing Trump impersonations for the few attendees still outside.
One of them, Tobias, said he was there because he thought that TPUSA was spreading too much hate and blaming the country’s problems on the working class. He also thought that it was “absolutely ridiculous” that the free speech zone was limited to one area.
The Cal Poly Democrats condemned Cal Poly for allowing the event to take place. The group also hosted a community over division resource fair alongside seven different organizations.
“Many of the speakers at the event have made a career out of antagonizing marginalized communities. Hosting TPUSA sends a message to the marginalized groups at Cal Poly that they are not welcome,” the Instagram statement read.
The Cal Poly Pride Center also closed their space in the University Union, according to a Cal Poly Pride Instagram post.
Arabela Damarillo, an English junior who identifies with the LGBTQ+ community, said she and her friends, who are either queer or people of color, did not feel safe to walk around campus during the event.
Damarillo said she encouraged her friends to “stay safe from people who will intentionally mock parts of your identity or parts of your values.”
She also said that TPUSA does not promote “a constructive dialogue” and uses “dog whistles” to offend marginalized groups.
“I would say they are intentionally gauging a reaction,” Damarillo said.
One local resident who attended the event, Rick Russell, said he did not want anyone to feel excluded. He said his LGBTQ+ family members and his time serving alongside people of color in the military taught him the importance of acceptance.
“We all live in America, and we all need to treat each other with respect and love,” Russell said.