The New York Republican State Committee\u2019s leaders unanimously voted to disband the Empire State\u2019s Young Republicans chapter on Friday after screenshots from a Telegram chat exposed members using antisemitic and racist language.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\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 New York GOP Chair Ed Cox said in a Friday statement.<\/p>\n
The explosive chat, first reported by Politico, was filled with Young Republican leaders<\/a> from New York, Kansas, Arizona and Vermont. Peter Giunta, chief of staff for New York Assembly Member Michael O\u2019Reilly, allegedly created the chat while campaigning to become the group\u2019s chair.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI love Hitler,\u201d one of the messages associated with Giunta read, according to Politico.<\/p>\n Vermont state Sen. Samuel Douglass (R) was also revealed as a participant <\/a>in the Telegram chat. While Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) called on Douglass to resign, Vice President Vance said the \u201ckids\u201d in the message thread should not face career ending punishments.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not canceling kids because they do something stupid in a group chat,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is that kids do stupid things. Especially young boys, they tell edgy, offensive jokes. Like, that\u2019s what kids do,\u201d Vance said<\/a>. \u201cAnd 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 However, other party leaders have strongly condemned the contents discovered in the private online chat.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, that is not the principles of the Republican Party. We stand for the founding principles of America,\u201d House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said during a Thursday press conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou want me to articulate them for you right now? Individual freedom, limited government, rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, human dignity, the things that lead to human flourishing.\u201d<\/p>\n Alex Degrasse, a senior adviser to New York Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) said she \u201ccalls for any NY Young Republicans responsible for these horrific comments in this chat to step down immediately,\u201d in a statement to ABC News<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n While she said none of the chat members was employed in her office, Giunta did bestow Stefanik with the Congresswoman of the Year Award for the New York Young Republicans chapter in August.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the time, she said Giunta demonstrated \u201ctremendous leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n