Parkland shooting survivor and TPUSA leader Kyle Kashuv has stepped down from his role as director of high school outreach following the uncovering of racist comments that he made a few years back.
Turning Point USA is a right-wing nonprofit organization that presents itself as a safe haven for young conservatives — a group that has become infamous for ties to white nationalist ideals within its ranks.
Two Parkland teens confirmed with HuffPost that former-member Kashuv made racist remarks within texts, Skype messages, and a shared Google document for a class study guide.
Kashuv took to Twitter yesterday to address the discovery of the messages, claiming, “We were 16-year-olds making idiotic comments, using callous and inflammatory language in an effort to be as extreme and shocking as possible.”
A quick note on callous comments I made a few years ago in high school that are circulating. pic.twitter.com/E6Ki6XIhtc
Kyle Kashuv is just the most recent affiliated member of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) to resign after problematic histories were uncovered. Just a few weeks ago, University of Nevada Las Vegas TPUSA chapter leader Riley Grisar was removed from the organization after a video of him participating in a racist rant surfaced on Twitter, in which Grisar exclaimed “white power,” along with other slurs.
In viral video, leader of #LasVegas chapter of Turning Point USA seen giving Alt-Right “OK” sign while friend screams, “We’re gonna run the world! White Power! Fuck N*****s!” Was seen giving same hand sign at recent “Build the Wall” rally. CW: Racial Slurs https://t.co/f0IwuCWAsRpic.twitter.com/qcQIFTzk8i