An explosive new report from Politico exposed thousands of text messages from a Young Republican group chat in which members joked about gas chambers, slavery and rape.
The group chat included messages from about a dozen leaders associated with the Young Republican National Federation — the GOP’s 15,000-member political organization for Republicans between 18 and 40 years old — and spanned more than seven months this year.
The reporting sent waves through political circles, as the Young Republican leaders mentioned in the story — from New York, Kansas, Arizona and Vermont — drew intense scrutiny and backlash, including from members of the GOP. Some were promptly fired from their jobs in politics.
The Young Republican National Federation condemned the “vile and inexcusable language revealed in the Politico article” and called for immediate resignations of all those involved.
Others, like Vice President Vance, suggested the leaked text messages sent by a Democratic candidate in Virginia were “far worse” than the messages in the Young Republicans group chat, adding, “I refuse to join the pearl clutching when powerful people call for political violence.”
Here’s a look at the Young Republicans mentioned in the piece and the repercussions they are now facing.
Peter Giunta
The former chair of the New York State Young Republicans, Giunta “was the most prominent voice in the chat spreading racist messages — often encouraged or ‘liked’ by other members,” Politico reported.
“I love Hitler,” Giunta reportedly said in one of the exposed text messages, in an exchange about appealing to delegates as the “most right wing person.” He also made comments about sending opponents to the “gas chamber” if they don’t support his nomination for chair of the Young Republican National Federation, Politico reported.
Giunta resigned last month as chairman and president of the New York State Young Republicans amid allegations of “serious potential financial misconduct” within the organization, reported by Politico Playbook. At the time, Giunta told the outlet the accusations were “nothing more than a sad and pathetic attempt at a political hit job.”
Before Politico’s bombshell report on Tuesday, Giunta served as chief of staff in New York State Assemblyman Michael Reilly’s office, where Giunta had worked for more than five years.
Giunta was fired in the wake of the Politico report.
“The comments shared in the group chat that have been reported are extremely troubling and disappointing. They do not align with my values. As a result, Mr. Giunta’s assignment in my office has ended,” Reilly said in a statement to The Hill.
Giunta said screenshots were provided to Politico for “extortion” purposes by Gavin Wax, head of the New York City Young Republican Club, in a “highly-coordinated year-long character assassination.”
He also apologized for the harm he caused, telling Politico, “I am so sorry to those offended by the insensitive and inexcusable language found within the more than 28,000 messages of a private group chat that I created during my campaign to lead the Young Republican National Federation.”
“While I take complete responsibility, I have had no way of verifying their accuracy and am deeply concerned that the message logs in question may have been deceptively doctored,” he said.
Bobby Walker
Walker took over as chair of the New York State Young Republicans after Giunta resigned last month. For much of the time that the text messages span, Walker served as vice chair of the organization.
In the Politico story, Walker was reported to have referred to a reported rape as “epic” and used the homophobic slur, “f—–,” though Politico noted he was also “the group’s main target for the same epithet.”
In one instance, he also talked about a friend who “dated this very obese Indian woman for a period of time,” precipitating a discussion relying on racist stereotypes.
“If we ever had a leak of this chat we would be cooked fr fr,” Walker wrote at one point.
Walker had reportedly been in line to manage New York State Senator Peter Oberacker’s (R) campaign for Congress, but Politico reported, citing a spokesperson for the campaign, that “Walker won’t be brought on in light of the comments in the chat.”
Walker responded to the public reporting, raising questions about the authenticity of the text messages, which he said “may have been altered, taken out of context, or otherwise manipulated,” adding, “private exchanges were obtained and released in a way clearly intended to inflict harm.”
But he also apologized for the language “attributed to me” in a statement to Politico.
“There is no excuse for the language and tone in messages attributed to me. The language is wrong and hurtful, and I sincerely apologize,” Walker said. “This has been a painful lesson about judgment and trust, and I am committed to moving forward with greater care, respect, and accountability in everything I say and do.”
Samuel Douglass
Douglass, a state senator from northern Vermont who heads the state’s Young Republicans, is apparently the only elected official in the group chat.
He is facing growing calls to resign over his participation in the chat — including from Vermont’s Republican governor, Phil Scott.
“The hateful statements made in this group chat are disgusting and unacceptable. The vile, racist, bigoted, and antisemitic dialogue that has been reported is deeply disturbing. There is simply no excuse for it,” Scott said in a Tuesday statement.
“Those involved should resign from their roles immediately and leave the Republican party – including Vermont State Senator Sam Douglass,” he added.
Douglass, in the chat, replied to Walker’s remark about a “very obese Indian woman” after Giunta pushed back, saying the woman “was not Indian.”
“She just didn’t bathe often,” Douglass added, according to Politico.
After Douglass made another comment about a Jewish colleague potentially making a procedural mistake, his wife, Brianna Douglass, Vermont’s national Young Republicans committee member who was also on the chat, responded he was giving the colleague too much credit “and expecting the Jew to be honest.”
Samuel Douglass did not respond to a request for comment.
William Hendrix
Hendrix, the vice chair of Kansas Young Republicans, was also an active participant in the chat. He reportedly used variations of the N-word more than a dozen times, according to Politico.
Hendrix is reported to have invoked racist stereotypes when describing Black people. In July, Politico’s story said he wrote in the chat, “Bro is at a chicken restaurant ordering his food. Would he like some watermelon and kool aid with that?”
Hendrix has apparently faced professional repercussions over the scandal.
Until last Thursday, according to Politico, he was communications assistant for Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R). A spokesperson for Kobach’s office told Politico that “we are aware of the issues raised in your article” and Hendrix was “no longer employed” in the attorney general’s office.
The Kansas GOP told local news outlets on Tuesday that the Kansas Young Republicans organization was inactive following the Politico report. The group’s website has been made private.
Michael Bartels
Bartels is the only member of the group chat known to work for the Trump administration. His LinkedIn profile indicated that he was a senior adviser in the office of general counsel in the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
Politico reported, “Bartels did not have much to say in the chat, but he didn’t offer any pushback against the offensive rhetoric in it either.”
Bartels signed an affidavit obtained by Politico that seems to echo Giunta’s suggestion that intraparty rivalry involving Wax was at play. Bartels said in the affidavit that he did not give Politico the chat log’s transcripts, but that Wax had “demanded” that Bartels hand them over.
“When I attempted to resist that demand, after providing some of the requested information, Wax threatened my professional standing, and raised the possibility of potential legal action related to an alleged breach of a non-disclosure agreement,” Bartels wrote in the affidavit, Politico reported. “My position within the New York Young Republican Club was directly threatened.”
The SBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Several other people participated in the chat as well. The Hill has reached out to individual or state Young Republican organizations for responses.
Alex Dwyer
Dwyer is chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, the group that was shut down following Politico’s reporting. In the group chat, Dwyer is alleged to have reacted with a smiley face to Giunta’s text, “Great. I love Hitler.”
Anne KayKaty
KayKaty is New York’s national committee member and, according to a Politico report last month, is also Giunta’s girlfriend. In a conversation about sending political opponents to gas chambers, KayKaty reportedly said, “I’m ready to watch people burn now.”
Joe Maligno
Maligno previously identified himself as the general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans. In the same conversation, he reportedly wrote, “Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic.”
Luke Mosiman
Mosiman is the chair of the Arizona Young Republicans. In the chat, Politico reported he mused about linking a political opponent to white supremacist groups and putting out “pro Nazi” propaganda. He then backtracked, suggesting Kansas Young Republicans might end up liking that opponent more.
Rachel Hope
Hope, the Arizona Young Republicans events chair, reacted to Mosiman’s original proposal, saying, “Omg I love this plan.” She reacted to other text messages in the chat.
