Turning Point USA cancels university event after trans student’s death
Students did not want the talk happening (Stock image via Getty Images)
Students at the University of Washington pushed back this week after Turning Point USA planned to move forward with an event featuring controversial speaker Chloe Cole just days after a 19-year-old transgender student was fatally stabbed near campus housing.
Chloe Cole is a person who has detransitioned and advocates against access to gender affirming care.
The “Pick Up the Mic” event, organised by TPUSA’s UW chapter and scheduled to take place today (13 May), has drawn widespread criticism from students online, many of whom argue that the university should postpone or cancel the appearance, given the timing and the organisation’s rhetoric surrounding trans people.
Comments flooded the group’s social media pages, with students describing the event as “inappropriate” and expressing concern for the safety and well-being of trans students on campus following the killing.
Late Tuesday night (12 May), Cole announced on her Instagram that the event had been postponed, claiming that a “local-militia” assembled by “Antifa” sparked concerns over safety and possible protests, which influenced the decision.
“Before Charlie Kirk’s assassination, I think I would have been less careful. But times have changed,” she said.
The cancellation comes as Seattle police continue investigating the killing of the 19-year-old trans student, who was found dead Sunday evening (10 May) in the laundry room of the Nordheim Court apartment complex affiliated with UW. Authorities have not yet identified a suspect or announced a motive, though the case has sparked renewed conversations around campus safety, anti-trans rhetoric, and the fears many LGBTQ+ students are experiencing in the wake of the homicide.
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