Formation of a Turning Point USA chapter at a blue state’s college was met with assurances that the group won’t “back down” after the student body accused them of opposing “diversity of thought.”
“This will not stand.”
In the immediate aftermath of the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, the organization reported that tens of thousands of requests were submitted to carry on the Christian patriot’s legacy of exercising the First Amendment on college campuses.
Last week, an effort by one chapter to officially be recognized as a Registered Student Organization (RSO) was blocked by the Associated Students of Fort Lewis College board in Durango, Colorado, leaving the chapter president endeavoring to take the “Christian way” to ensure fellow conservatives’ rights aren’t violated.
“I mean, we have a lot of people that are in the background that are saying they would love to sponsor us to do a lawsuit, but I’m trying to do it sort of the Christian way and go little by little, like go up the chain,” Fort Lewis College senior and club founder Jonah Flynn told Fox News Digital.
As the Durango Herald reported, the four-hour meeting where the fate of the club was decided was “filled wall-to-wall with students and community members.” A clip of the board announcing the decision against permitting the TPUSA chapter was shared by the group with the caption, “Disappointed day for our college. They value ‘diversity’, but not diversity of thought. This will not stand.”
Disappointing day for our college. They value “diversity”, but not diversity of thought. This will not stand. https://t.co/ZnaRpq5DEo
— Turning Point @ FLC (@turningpointFLC) October 30, 2025
“I was really upset by what happened to Charlie. I was just sort of mourning and emotional, and upset about it. Then I decided that what we need to do is not sort of back down,” Flynn explained of his motivations while asserting that the board decision, “I was quite ashamed of them, actually.”
Prior to the vote, a petition was distributed, garnering over 400 signatures in opposition, and loud cheers could be heard at the meeting, where the Herald reported more than 30 students spoke in opposition, with another 15 unable to speak out against TPUSA due to time constraints.
The petition was said to have argued that TPUSA has “engaged in actions that directly harm our community.”
“At a college where many students identify as Indigenous, students of color, LGBTQ+, or from other underrepresented backgrounds, this harm cannot be ignored,” it added. “We are calling on Fort Lewis College to take action that prioritizes student safety and well-being by refusing to recognize the TPUSA chapters as an RSO.”
Despite Kirk mourners and TPUSA chapters across the country being targeted by bad actors in the wake of the assassination, opponents argued the group would somehow “pose a threat to marginalized students,” and Student Body President Asa Worthington contended in the decision, “Many of our morals and interests must be pushed to the side. The safety of our student body and the FLC community has always been and always will be ASFLC’s top priority.”
Meanwhile, as a counter-petition following the denial was already said to have obtained more than 1,000 signatures, Flynn maintained his position that the denial of a TPUSA chapter at Fort Lewis College, a public institution, amounted to a violation of the U.S. Constitution and the student body constitution.
“I think it’s very likely to happen,” he told Fox News Digital of establishing the chapter. “I think even though there were a lot of people that didn’t want the club to go through, I think in the wake of it, people realized no matter how much you hate the club, that was actually a violation of people’s rights.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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