{"id":10181,"date":"2025-10-21T00:42:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T00:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/10181\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T00:42:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T00:42:11","slug":"state-young-republicans-disbanded-over-antisemitic-racist-texts-as-local-officials-respond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/10181\/","title":{"rendered":"State Young Republicans disbanded over antisemitic, racist texts, as local officials respond"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York State Young Republicans were disbanded in a unanimous vote by the New York State Republican Party leaders Friday following the leak of offensive messages shared among a dozen millennial and Generation Z Republicans on Oct. 14. The 2,900 pages of online messages, which were published by POLITICO<\/a>, a media company that covers politics, saw Young Republican leaders in New York, Kansas, Arizona and Vermont use slurs, claim to love Hitler and refer to rape as \u201cepic\u201d on the messaging app Telegram.<\/p>\n

\u201cIm going to create some of the greatest physiological torture methods known to man. We only want true believers,\u201d Peter Giunta, vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time, wrote about an upcoming vote on whether he should become chair of the Young Republican National Federation. \u201cEveryone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we fix the showers? Gas chambers don\u2019t fit the Hitler aesthetic,\u201d said Joe Maligno, who previously identified himself as the general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ready to watch people burn now,\u201d said Annie Kaykaty, New York\u2019s national committee member.<\/p>\n

Following the leak, Republican leaders across the state met virtually on Oct. 14. Afterward, state GOP Chairman Ed Cox announced the suspension of the New York State Young Republicans<\/a> in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, the Executive Committee of the New York Republican State Committee unanimously voted to suspend authorization of the New York State Young Republicans following a report of a group chat that included racist and antisemitic language on the part of leadership,\u201d Cox said.\u00a0\u201cThe Young Republicans was already grossly mismanaged, and vile language of the sort made in the group chat has no place in our party or its subsidiary organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kansas Young Republicans were also disbanded<\/a> following the leak.<\/p>\n

While some felt the texts revealed a culture where hateful language is encouraged among Millennial and Gen Z GOP leaders, others saw the messages as \u201cstupid\u201d jokes and worried about the consequences of the leak.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys,\u201d Vice President JD Vance said on \u201cThe Charlie Kirk Show.\u201d \u201cThey tell edgy, offensive jokes. That\u2019s what kids do. And I really don\u2019t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke \u2014 telling a very offensive, stupid joke \u2014 is cause to ruin their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is running for re-election<\/a> in November, responded to the leaks in a Facebook post on Oct. 17.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe so-called Young Republicans who espouse values contrary to our party\u2019s principles and my values are not welcome in my campaign,\u201d Blakeman said in the post<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hempstead Town Supervisor John Ferretti, a Republican, <\/a>called for the individuals responsible for the \u201cvile and bigoted\u201d texts to leave any role in the state Young Republicans in an Instagram post Friday. Ferretti is running for re-election in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vile and bigoted texts that have come to light are deeply offensive and reprehensible. I fully condemn this kind of hate-filled language and the individuals behind it,\u201d he said in the post<\/a>. \u201cThey should resign immediately from any role within the Young Republicans. The Town of Hempstead and the Nassau GOP stand for decency, respect, and unity \u2013 not hate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joe Cairo, Nassau County GOP chairman and national GOP committeeman, condemned the text messages in comments to Newsday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know many of these people, or if I know any of them or met one or two of them, but their words are repugnant and they have no place in the Republican Party or anywhere else,\u201d Cairo said.<\/p>\n

But Democratic elected officials and candidates criticized the response of Republican officials in a press conference on Oct. 17, claiming county Republicans only responded with their own statements once they knew the Democrats were planning a press conference. Many mentioned that local Republicans took days to respond to the leaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you might be shocked to find out that after we called this press conference this morning, and within the last hour, all the Republicans are starting to put out their own statements,\u201d Nassau County executive candidate Seth Koslow<\/a> said. \u201cHow ironic. Look at that timing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Koslow, a Democrat, called for Blakeman, his opponent, to suspend his campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is not a leader for the Jewish people in Nassau County, and he is a danger to all of us because of his failure to act and defend us and condemn these vile statements made by the Young Republicans,\u201d Koslow said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Koslow also discussed Blakeman\u2019s frequent mentions of Jewish people and his own Jewish heritage. Blakeman is Nassau County\u2019s first Jewish county executive <\/a>and has been outspoken about antisemitism.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd yet Bruce Blakeman, who talks about the fact that we have 300,000 Jewish people in Nassau County, and how he parades around with a yarmulke on talking about antisemitism and how you always stop and fight it \u2013 His statement didn\u2019t condemn antisemitism,\u201d Koslow said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t condemn the hate and bigotry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joe Scianablo<\/a>, a Democrat who is running against Ferretti for Hempstead town supervisor, critiqued Ferretti\u2019s response.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he was genuine and if he was a true leader, he would have denounced it right away the same day, just like we did,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no room for this type of hateful speech in our society. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n

The press conference of the Democratic elected officials and candidates, which took place at the\u00a0Nassau County Democratic Headquarters,\u00a0featured signs of Republican candidates celebrating endorsements from the Young Republicans through social media posts posted prior to the leaks.<\/p>\n

The GOP\u2019s State Sen. Jack Martins posted a statement to Facebook on Oct. 17, condemning the messages as well as those trying to \u201csmear all Republicans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe racist and antisemitic messages exposed in a recently publicized group chat are vile and disgusting. There\u2019s no place for that type of hateful language anywhere in society. Period,\u201d he said.<\/a> \u201cTo those trolling to smear all Republicans, shame on you all. It\u2019s pure politics and speaks volumes about who you are \u2013 seriously unserious people trying to score cheap political points.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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