The Sept. 10 assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk failed to scare the conservative group off college campuses. The fact that students across the country have stood their ground and continue to hold events has evidently enraged leftists.
On Friday, a 27-year-old teaching assistant at Illinois State University allegedly attacked a TPUSA booth where students were advertising their group as well as their Oct. 20 event featuring BlazeTV host Alex Stein.
‘The left has no impulse control.’
Footage of the incident seems to show the man-bunned teaching assistant Derek Lopez of El Paso, Illinois, confront student members of the conservative group — one of whom appears to have been smashed in the face with a pie — and motion toward their table stating, “Jesus did it. So you know I gotta do it, right?”
A pinned tweet on an X page that appears to belong to Lopez states, “A reminder to students who see TPUSA chapters on their campus: those are Nazis.”
Lopez can be seen in the footage apparently yanking the table, then turning it over, then later yanking down flyers for the event. Lopez apparently admitted to flipping over the table in an Instagram post.
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Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images
Hours after the incident, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon noted, “This is outrageous anti-speech conduct by a state employee. What’s up @IllinoisStateU?!”
The following day, the university told Dhillon that the institution “recognizes the diverse perspectives represented on our campus,” and indicated that Lopez, confirmed to be a graduate student and teaching assistant at the university, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property.
Chief Aaron Woodruff of the Illinois State University Police Department said in a statement, “We are committed to protecting the First Amendment rights as well as [the] safety of everyone in our campus community. We encourage all members of our community to learn more about free speech rights and responsibilities at Illinois State University, including constructive ways to respond when encountering speech they may disagree with.”
According to campus police, Lopez could face additional charges and university disciplinary action over the incident.
Blaze News has reached out to Lopez for comment.
Alex Stein, who was himself viciously attacked over the weekend by unhinged liberals at a No Kings protest, told Blaze News, “It’s sad that it’s not even surprising anymore when something like this happens.”
“Radical leftists have made sure to infiltrate the education system so they can try and radicalize more students, and then want to get violent/physical when they see something they don’t agree with,” continued Stein. “It’s obvious at this point the left has no impulse control. I’m looking forward to my event tonight at Illinois State and am proud of the students who stood their ground against the student teacher.”
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The post Teacher’s assistant arrested in connection with Turning Point USA attack ahead of Alex Stein event at Illinois State Univ. appeared first on TheBlaze.
