Supporters claim Charlie Kirk was ‘shut down.’ Here’s what Penn State said happened
A planned appearance on Penn State’s campus Thursday by conservative media personality Charlie Kirk drew hundreds of supporters, dozens of protesters and accusations about the university shutting down the event early — which the university vehemently denied.
Kirk is the founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative organization dedicated to organizing high school and college students and promoting “principles of free markets and limited government,” its website states. Turning Point USA has thousands of chapters across the country, including Penn State, which promoted Thursday’s event. With Kirk was Jack Posobiec, a far-right political activist.
Kirk, who appeared on Pitt’s campus Wednesday with his “You’re Being Brainwashed” tour, has been accused of antisemitism and has recently amplified the unsubstantiated allegations that Haitians are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
The tour stop was on the HUB lawn, with a few booths set up that encouraged people to register to vote and had informational items and pins. When Kirk arrived, he and other organizers handed out hundreds of red Make America Great Again hats to the large crowd.
Onward State reported that as Turning Point USA representatives were speaking and introducing Kirk, their mics were cut in the middle of a segment. Later on, an organizer with a megaphone said the university shut down the event. Chants of “F--k Penn State” followed.
Instead of a formal speech or sitting at the booth to talk with students, Kirk made his way through the crowd and took selfies with people and signed the MAGA hats. Organizers walked around with voter registration forms and political stickers. In a Facebook post, the Centre County Republicans said they registered more than 230 voters during the event.
Rumors that the university “shut down” the event swirled on social media, with Posobiec resharing several posts on X (formerly Twitter) that said Penn State shut down the event and didn’t allow them to speak.
But a Penn State spokesperson told the Centre Daily Times that Penn State’s student chapter of Turning Point USA only requested to have a table set up to distribute information, which was approved. The chapter never made a request to have a speaker, nor did they follow Penn State’s policy for having a speaker, Lisa Powers, assistant vice president for strategic communications at the university, said.
“Regardless, Charlie Kirk’s presence on campus is permitted under the First Amendment as well as under Penn State Policy AD 51 ‘Use of Outdoor Areas for Expressive Activities,’ which provides guidance to those who wish to engage in speaking at outside locations at Penn State,” Powers wrote in an email.
Penn State’s policy prohibits the use of sound amplification equipment between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., she said. The policy does allow amplification at Old Main between noon and 1 p.m.
“The student leaders of Turning Point USA were aware of this limitation and were explicitly reminded this morning before their event began that amplification was not permitted,” Powers wrote. “After the event started, the group was asked to stop using amplification due to its violation of AD 51, which the University must enforce uniformly across events and groups.”
Penn State’s Turning Point USA chapter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Powers said the university is a “a strong supporter of free speech” and did not ask the group to end their activities or event. It could have continued without sound amplification, Powers said.
“Penn State upholds free speech and expression as a foundational element of our democratic society and we remain committed to open dialogue,” she said.
The event was met with a group of protesters that had several chants, including “No hate. No fear. Racists are not welcome here,” and “Turning Point, turn around, get off our campus now.”
The group, Penn State Student Committee for Defense and Solidarity, also had an online petition that demanded the university administration deny Kirk’s event, make policy changes that would prevent “far-right extremist organizers like Kirk” from coming to campus, and to dissolve Turning Point USA as a registered campus organization. The petition garnered 232 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.
Some Kirk supporters yelled back at the protesters with brief “USA! USA!” chants and others took pictures with their MAGA hats on in front of the protesting group. Things remained peaceful and the protesters left around 1 p.m. A handful of uniformed police were staggered around the HUB lawn.
Another Turning Point USA event is planned for 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Thomas Building with Vivek Ramaswamy, who ran for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election.
This story was originally published September 19, 2024 at 4:57 PM.
