Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has issued a warning to schools which try to prevent Turning Point USA chapters forming.
Uthmeier, a Republican, said in a video posted on X that the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Parental Rights, launched earlier this year, would bring legal action where necessary “to ensure we are protecting the rights of students to organize, associate and engage and debate.”
Newsweek has contacted Uthmeier’s office for further comment via an email sent outside regular business hours.
Why It Matters
Uthmeier’s comments come after Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization founded by Charlie Kirk, has seen a surge in interest and support since the conservative activist’s assassination.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot as he spoke at Utah Valley University on September 10 during his “American Comeback Tour.”
A close ally of President Donald Trump, he played a key role in organizing young Republican voters through Turning Point USA, which organizes students on high school and college campuses across the country. Conservatives have pledged to continue funding and supporting the organization following Kirk’s death.
What To Know
In the video posted on X, Uthmeier said he had heard reports, from “up and down the state,” of public schools “not allowing Turning Point USA organizations to be formed on campus.”
Uthmeier did not provide details about which public schools had blocked chapters from being formed.
He appeared in the video alongside April Carney, a member of the Duval County School Board, who said the board is working on “revamping” its student-led organization policy so there would be “no issues” with students opening a Turning Point USA chapter or any other club at their school.
Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, was named the next CEO of Turning Point USA, the organization saying on social media that Kirk “expressed to multiple executives that this is what he wanted in the event of his death.”
A Turning Point USA spokesperson previously told Newsweek that it had been inundated with requests from students to start new chapters in the wake of Kirk’s death.
Andrew Kolvet, Turning Point USA spokesperson, said on X on Tuesday that there had been a “massive surge” in inquiries after a memorial for Kirk was held on Sunday, inquiries now topping 120,000. Kolvet said earlier in September that the organization had 900 official college chapters and around 1,200 high school chapters.
What People Are Saying
Uthmeier said in the video posted on X: “We were hearing reports up and down the state of public schools not allowing Turning Point USA organizations to be formed on campus. This is discriminatory. It’s wrong and we will not stand for it. Our AG’s Office of Parental Rights will be bringing legal action where necessary to ensure that we are protecting the rights of students to organize, associate and engage in speech and debate. Very tenets of our country that our founders so cherished.”
Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet wrote on X on Tuesday: “Even accounting for attrition and duplicates, we are on the cusp of having a TPUSA or Club America chapter in every HS and College campus in America.”
What’s Next
Erika Kirk has pledged to continue her late husband’s work.
“To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,” she said on September 12.
