Leaders of Young Republicans groups in New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont are facing bipartisan condemnation and calls for their resignations following the revelation of the violent, racist, antisemitic, misogynistic, and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric they casually spewed for months in a group chat.

On Tuesday, Politico published a report based on 2,900 pages of messages originally shared in a Telegram group chat called “RESTOREYR WAR ROOM” by its 12 participants between January and August. According to the outlet, the chat was set up to discuss then-New York State Young Republicans chair Peter Giunta’s campaign to become chair of the Young Republican National Federation and his faction, Restore YR’s broader campaign to seize control of the organization from rivals Grow YR, led by then-YRNF Chair Hayden Padgett.

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But the group’s messages frequently devolved into offensive and violent rhetoric. Participants referred to Black people as “monkeys,” expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler, threatened at various points to rape their opponents and send them to gas chambers, praised allies they claimed “support slavery,” and referenced white supremacist codes and symbols. According to Politico, various epithets, including racial and anti-LGBTQ+ slurs, were used in the chat more than 251 times.

Politico notes that much of the offensive, racist, and violent language in “RESTOREYR WAR ROOM” appears to have been used in a joking manner. Nevertheless, the outlet describes the messages as giving “an unfiltered look at how a new generation of GOP activists talk when they think no one is listening” and revealing “a culture where racist, antisemitic and violent rhetoric circulate freely.”

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Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair William Hendrix used variations of the n-word more than a dozen times in the chat, according to Politico. In one message, he also reportedly expressed an affinity with Missouri’s Young Republican organization, writing that “Missouri doesn’t like f*gs.” Prior to last Thursday, Hendrix also worked as a communications assistant for Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R). It’s unclear whether he resigned or was fired, or whether his departure was related to Politico’s reporting.

Giunta, who lost his bid to become YRNF to Padgett in early August, referred to his opponent in the Telegram chat as “Hayden Fa***t.” In one July message, then-New York State Young Republicans vice chair Bobby Walker wrote that “Adolf Padgette is in the Fa***tbunker as we speak.”

In another message blasting Padgett supporters, Giunta described his opponent’s Minnesota supporters as “Minnesota fa***ts.”

In a statement to Politico, Padgett said that “The Young Republican National Federation condemns all forms of racism, antisemitism, and hate.”

“I want to be clear that such behavior is entirely inconsistent with our values and has no place within our organization or the broader conservative movement,” Padgett added.

Walker, who still leads the New York State Young Republicans as of Wednesday, and Giunta both apologized for the language they used in the Telegram chat, while also suggesting that the messages viewed by Politico may have been “altered” or “manipulated.”

Participants in the chat didn’t just reserve their slurs for their rivals. According to Politico, Walker was frequently called “fa***t” by others in the chat. In one message to Arizona Young Republicans chair Luke Mosiman, Walker himself wrote: “Stay in the closet fa***t.” Walker’s messages have reportedly cost him a job managing the U.S. congressional campaign of New York state Sen. Peter Oberacker (R).

Giunta, who Politico describes as “the most prominent voice in the chat spreading racist messages,” had received endorsements from Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Trump adviser Roger Stone. But in statements to the outlet, both Stone and a representative for Stefanik denounced the hate-filled messages in the Restore YR Telegram chat.

“If the description by Politico is accurate, Congresswoman Stefanik calls for any NY Young Republicans responsible for these horrific comments in this chat to step down immediately,” Alex deGrasse, a senior adviser for Stefanik, said.

Following its initial story on the chat, Politico reported that Giunta had been fired from his position as New York state Republican Assemblymember Mike Reilly’s chief of staff, and that Joseph Maligno, who previously identified himself as the general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans and participated in the Restore YR chat, is “no longer an employee of the New York State Unified Court System.”

The revelation of the Restore YR chat has been met with broad bipartisan condemnation. New York State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R) called for the resignation of the New York State Young Republicans members involved in the chat, while the Young Republican National Federation called on all participants to resign from their various organizations.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) and the state’s House Republican caucus have called on Vermont state Sen. Sam Douglass (R) — who, along with his wife, Vermont Young Republicans’ national committee member Brianna Douglass, shared racist and antisemitic comments in the chat — to resign.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Congressional Black Caucus chair Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), New York Republican party chair Ed Cox, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochel (D) are all among the chorus of leaders who have denounced the Young Republicans who participated in the Restore YR chat.

However, Vice President JD Vance downplayed the chat’s vile messages in a Tuesday night X post, describing the Telegram group — which included the leaders of prominent state Young Republicans groups, staffers for state elected officials, and a sitting state senator — as “a college group chat” and the response to Politico‘s reporting as “pearl clutching.”

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