Turning Point USA

Turning Point USA (TPUSA)

Background

Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a youth conservative activist organization founded by Charlie Kirk on June 5, 2012. According to its website, TPUSA’s “mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government.”¹

They claim a presence on over 1,000 college campuses and high schools across the country, and label themselves the largest and fastest growing youth organization in America. The organization focuses on building “the most organized, active, and powerful conservative grassroots activist network on college campuses across the country” and has adopted the slogan “Big Government Sucks.”²

In lieu of attending college, 18-year-old Charlie Kirk launched TPUSA with the guidance of William Montgomery³ and seed funding⁴ from Foster Friess, a conservative donor with ties to the Koch brothers.⁵

In its 2017–2018 student chapter handbook, TPUSA claims it is non-partisan and focuses strictly on economic issues. The following is from the handbook’s prepared responses to “some commonly asked questions” when setting up a new chapter on campus:⁶

“3. How is your group unique and unlike other clubs already on campus? Turning Point USA is nonpartisan and will never partake in campaign activities of any kind (such as advocating for a specific candidate, making political phone calls, encouraging students to participate in campaign events, etc.). TPUSA does not associate with any political party. We also focus strictly on economic issues (no talk about abortion, gay marriage, etc.)”

While maintaining it is nonpartisan, the organization has close ties to the Trump administration. Kirk worked as a youth outreach specialist for Trump’s campaign, and Trump’s family members have been frequent speakers at TPUSA events.⁷ TPUSA also engages students on issues including affirmative action,⁸ gender equality,⁹ sexual orientation,¹⁰ safe spaces,¹¹ white privilege,¹² free speech,¹³ trigger warnings,¹⁴ abortion,¹⁵ and others. The group has endorsed many controversial speakers such as Milo Yiannopoulos,¹⁶ Ann Coulter,¹⁷ Joe Walsh,¹⁸ and James O’Keefe.¹⁹

Turning Point USA began as a 501(c)4 nonprofit group and was granted 501(c)3 status in 2014, according to tax disclosures.²⁰

In a 2017 investigative piece at The New Yorker, Jane Mayer suggested TPUSA “may have skirted campaign-finance laws that bar charitable organizations from participating in political activity” in violation of its 501(c)3 status. The piece exposed direct coordination between TPUSA employees and Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to support Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign. Ginni Thomas is also a member of TPUSA’s advisory council. Email lists of interested students gathered by TPUSA were given to employees of Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign.²¹

TPUSA has been accused of violating spending cap and transparency laws for student government elections at college campuses across the US. Critics have called TPUSA a “Super PAC” for student government.²² At Ohio State University, leaked text messages from a TPUSA director regarding a 2017 student government campaign stated, “Yes TP is funding the campaign but that’s very hush hush. Liberals consistently dominate campus student government and our goal is to take them out secretly without them knowing what’s coming.”²³

At Ohio State and the University of Maryland, student candidates backed by TPUSA were forced to drop out of campus elections due to violations of campaign spending rules and attempts to hide the help they received from TPUSA.²⁴

TPUSA has also been “alleged to have fostered an atmosphere that is hostile to minorities,”²⁵ and came under fire for connections to alt-right and white supremacist groups.²⁶

Professor Watchlist

TPUSA launched Professor Watchlist in November 2016. The website names professors it claims “advance a radical agenda in lecture halls” and promote “leftist propaganda in the classroom.”²⁷ As reported by the New York Times, Professor Watchlist has been seen as a threat to the academic freedom of professors who are personally attacked on the website.²⁸ It generates much of its content from Campus Reform, a project owned and managed by the Leadership Institute. Many professors have experienced online harassment and threats after being targeted on Watchlist²⁹ whose “McCarthy-era tactics” have drawn ridicule and outrage in the academic community.³⁰

The Leadership Institute is an official partner of TPUSA, and has received at least $246,389 from Koch-related foundations between 2003 and 2015.³¹ According to its website, The Leadership Institute’s³² Campus Reform Campus Correspondent Program “recruits, cultivates, and pays conservative student journalists all across the country to investigate and report liberal bias on college campuses throughout their state.” Many Campus Correspondents are also ranking members of TPUSA.³³

TPUSA Koch Connection

In addition to its ties with the Koch-funded Leadership Institute, Turning Point USA has received support from a range of Koch-tied groups. In 2017, The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) sponsored TPUSA’s Student Action Summit. FEE is a partner organization of both TPUSA³⁴ and the Charles Koch Institute.³⁵

Groups funding FEE include The Charles G. Koch Foundation, as well as the dark money groups DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund.³⁶ Justin Steiff, the director of development for FEE,³⁷ is on TPUSA’s advisory board.³⁸

The Heritage Foundation is another partner organization of TPUSA,³⁹ and sponsored their 2017 Student Action Summit.⁴⁰ According to Greenpeace, the Foundation has received over $5 million from Koch Foundations between 1997 and 2015.⁴¹ Another partner organization, the National Review Institute, is a recipient of Koch Funding.

TPUSA advisory board member⁴²Adam Brandon is president of the Koch-affiliated group FreedomWorks.⁴³ FreedomWorks’ predecessor, Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), was founded by the Koch brothers. Both CSE and FreedomWorks have received millions of dollars from the Koch family foundations, DonorsTrust, and Donors Capital Fund.

Foster Friess, a wealthy conservative donor with a history of attending closed door meetings with the Kochs, reportedly provided the seed money for TPUSA.⁴⁴ He and Doug Deason,⁴⁵another common Koch donor,⁴⁶ both sit on the advisory board for TPUSA.⁴⁷ Deason also spoke at TPUSA’s 2017 Student Action Summit.⁴⁸

Trump Connections

Charlie Kirk’s father, Robert W. Kirk, was the project architect manager for Trump Tower in New York.⁴⁹ Charlie Kirk personally volunteered for Donald Trump’s Trump’s presidential campaign, devoting two months during the election cycle. Kirk has consistently praised Trump, his family, and the Trump Administration in social media and in news outlets like Fox News.⁵⁰ He also appeared alongside the Trump family on the Hannity show.⁵¹

TPUSA advisory board members⁵² Gentry Beach⁵³ and Thomas Hicks, Jr.⁵⁴ raised millions of dollars for Donald Trump as national vice chairmen of his presidential campaign.⁵⁵ The two also worked with Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump to sell access to Donald Trump to wealthy donors during the 2017 inauguration.⁵⁶ Advisory board member Jon D. Willis⁵⁷ also helped fundraise money for the Trump presidential campaign. Beach is reportedly godfather to one of Donald Trump Jr.’s children.⁵⁸

In December 2017, Trump tweeted his thanks to Kirk for praising his performance as President:

“The President has accomplished some absolutely historic things during this past year.” Thank you Charlie Kirk of Turning Points USA. Sadly, the Fake Mainstream Media will NEVER talk about our accomplishments in their end of year reviews. We are compiling a long & beautiful list.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2017

Charlie Kirk spent New Years Eve 2017 at Mar-a-Lago with President Trump:

Happy New Years #MAGA pic.twitter.com/GGIToTkMdq
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 1, 2018

Charlie Kirk and Trump January 30th, 2018:

So proud to have this amazing leader as our President #MAGA pic.twitter.com/dvTVBXK2mS
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 31, 2018

Accusations of Racism

As reported in The New Yorker, TPUSA’s former national field director and second-highest official for five years, Crystal Clanton, wrote in a text message to another Turning Point employee: “I hate black people. Like fuck them all … I hate blacks. End of story.”⁵⁹

In his book, Kirk called Clanton “integral to the success of Turning Point” and stated “Turning Point needs more Crystals; so does America.” When contacted, Clanton claimed that she had no recollection of the text messages and said, “they do not reflect what I believe or who I am and the same was true when I was a teenager.” Charlie Kirk said in an email that Turning Point took decisive action after being made aware of the issue.⁶⁰

Another former Turning Point employee, Gabrielle Fequiere, commented that she was the only African-American field director when she was hired by the group three years prior. “In looking back, I think it was racist,” she said. “At the time, I was blaming myself, and I thought I did something wrong.” Fequiere said that when she attended the annual student summit, speakers “spoke badly about black women having all these babies out of wedlock. It was really offensive.” Kirk responded: “These accusations are absolutely baseless and even absurd.”⁶¹

In 2017, a Turning Point USA chapter faced criticism for its “Affirmative Action Bake Sale“⁶² that charged University of New Mexico students based on race. TPUSA’s 2017–2018 Student Handbook outlines in detail how chapters should design their own events:⁶³

“Hosting an affirmative action bake sale demonstrates the unfairness and inadvertent racism of affirmative action. It also offers a real life example of why big government sucks! This event requires 5-8 members to execute. […]
“You will need at least one poster board for affirmative action prices. Prices for cookies/brownies should be a variation of the following: $2.00 for White Students, $1.50 for Asian Students, $1.00 for Latino Students, $.50 for Black Students, and Free for Native American Students. Consider adding a $0.25 cents discount for all women.”

Turning Point USA News published an article suggesting that the Black Lives Matter movement should be labeled as domestic terrorism. “It ought to be considered — is Black Lives Matter a domestic terrorist group? I firmly say yes! I believe that the Black Lives Matter movement should be considered a domestic terrorist group,” the article read.⁶⁴

Turning Point UK

A spin-off group was launched in the UK on February 4, 2019, describing itself as “a student movement for free markets, limited government & personal responsibility.”⁶⁵ The group received support from a number of Conservative MPs including Priti Patel and climate science denier Jacob Rees-Mogg, in addition to other right-wing politicians such as former UKIP leader, Nigel Farage.⁶⁶

The online launch of the movement turned out to be chaotic,⁶⁷ with members of the public setting up fake Twitter accounts to create confusion and poke fun at the group. One of the key figures behind the launch was John Mappin, a Scientologist who once awarded US President Donald Trump an “Honorary Camelot Castle Knighthood” from the hotel he runs in Cornwall, according to the NGO Hope not Hate.⁶⁸

When asked to reveal who funds the group, Mappin told Buzzfeed: “Well, the whole idea is to stay anonymous… That’s how they do it in the United States. It actually doesn’t matter who funds it because it’s about the ideas.”⁶⁹

A formal launch event took place on December 11, 2018 at The Royal Automobile Club in London and was advertised as “A Gathering of Political Genius.”⁷⁰ Guests at the event included notorious climate science denier James Delingpole, right-wing columnist Rod Liddle, Nigel Farage’s communications officer Dan Jukes, and Andy Wigmore, former communications director of the Leave.EU campaign, Buzzfeed reported.⁷¹

The group’s leader is George Farmer, a major Conservative Party donor who has been a member of the £50,000-a-year “Leader’s Group” of elite donors.⁷² Farmer is listed as a director⁷³ of the asset management company set up by his father, Lord Farmer, a former Conservative Party treasurer and millionaire commodities trader.⁷⁴ Farmer belonged to the scandal-hit elite drinking society, the Bullingdon Club,⁷⁵ while a student at Oxford University in 2013. He is friends with and frequently retweets Paul Joseph Watson, senior editor at conspiracy theory website Infowars.⁷⁶

Various leading figures within the group, such as Tom Harwood⁷⁷ and Darren Grimes,⁷⁸ have expressed skepticism about the threat of climate change. Grimes tweeted in response to a “climate strike” by schoolchildren in February 2019: “I used to bunk off of school during PE – if only I could’ve used ‘climate change’ as an excuse and have it legitimised by our left wing media and politicians! Nightmare.”⁷⁹ Grimes was fined £20,000 by the Electoral Commission⁸⁰ for breaching spending rules during the EU referendum campaign but won an appeal against the fine in July 2019.⁸¹

In June 2019, the BBC produced a video about 19-year-old Emily Hewertson, an “influencer” for Turning Point UK. Hewertson had gone viral after appearing in the audience of BBC’s politics show, Question Time, speaking in favour of Brexit.⁸²

In July, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said he was “thrilled that Turning Point UK has opened” in a video for the group, adding:⁸³

“I know there are very large numbers of young people in this country who are scared. They’ve got convictions but in many ways they lack the courage to say them. And that’s where Turning Point UK comes in. You can join this organisation. You can know that you’ve got strength in numbers. You can know that you’re not alone. Turning Point UK is going to make us a more democratic society.”

Stance on Climate Change

Fossil fuel proponent Alex Epstein, who believes that increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere from fossil fuels “has only a mild warming impact,”⁸⁴ is listed on the TPUSA Speakers Bureau. He also spoke at TPUSA’s 2017 Student Action Summit where he said “we’re not concerned about climate change, per se.”⁸⁵ ⁸⁶

TPUSA’s stamp is on a short video clip claiming that NASA scientists are “wrong about climate change”:⁸⁷

May 31, 2018

Candace Owens, TPUSA’s Communications Director until May 2019, said in a podcast with Joe Rogan:⁸⁸

“Let’s say we all agree that global warming is real – I don’t believe it’s real… I personally think that this was just the next – the fact that it was presented to us by Al Gore and it’s just -“⁸⁹

Funding

Charlie Kirk has admitted to soliciting funds from the fossil fuel industry. He acknowledged in an interview that some donors of TPISA “are in the fossil-fuel space.”⁹⁰ Barry Russell, president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) is on the advisory council of TPUSA. Kirk has stated that most advisory council members contribute monetary support to the organization. A full list of TPUSA advisory council members can be found on their website.⁹¹

“To answer your question, no I will not disclose private giving amounts,” Kirk told International Business Times in an email. “Some people like the amount of their charitable giving to remain anonymous so we wish to honor that request.”⁹²

IBT reported that, while TPUSA is not required to disclose its donors, they were able to track down over $900,000 in funding from “Republican mega-donor families, GOP politicians and other wealthy individuals.”⁹³

At TPUSA’s 2017 Student Action Summit, speaker Patrick Caddell expressed the importance of the monetary support that TPUSA receives from Lee and Allie Hanley. The Hanley family owns Hanley Petroleum and Lee Hanley was a member of the National Petroleum Council before his passing in 2016. Allie Hanley remains a member of TPUSA’s advisory board.⁹⁴ ⁹⁵

The following funding data has been compiled from publicly available 990 tax records and data from the Conservative Transparency project.⁹⁶

See the attached spreadsheet for a complete look at Turning Point USA funding by year (.xlsx).

Donor	Contributions
Buckeye Foundation	$577,500
Marcus Foundation	$572,600
Foglia Family Foundation	$395,000
Ed Uihlein Family Foundation	$275,000
Michael and Andrea Leven Family Foundation	$232,600
The Rauner Family Foundation	$150,000
DonorsTrust	$125,000
Donors Capital Fund	$100,000
Thomas W Smith Foundation	$100,000
The TWS Foundation	$100,000
Emerson Family Foundation	$100,000
National Christian Charitable Foundation	$55,000
Nextgen Foundation Charitable Trust	$50,000
David D Smith Family Foundation	$50,000
Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin and Sonoma	$50,000
Bradley Impact Fund	$35,000
Micron Industries Charitable Foundation	$33,000
Dunn’s Foundation for the Advancement of Right Thinking	$30,000
The Helen Diller Family Foundation	$25,000
Huizenga Foundation	$25,000
Abstraction Fund	$25,000
Cabela Family Foundation	$25,000
Alice Busch Gronewaldt Foundation	$25,000
David and Janet Polak Foundation	$25,000
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation	$20,000
The Randolph Foundation	$20,000
B Stephen Schloss Foundation	$15,000
Chiavacci Family Foundation	$15,000
Eyas Foundation	$12,000
Einhorn Family Foundation	$10,000
The Gillian S Fuller Foundation	$10,000
William and Hope Simpson Foundation	$10,000
The JM Foundation	$10,000
Charles and Ann Johnson Foundation	$10,000
Hertog Foundation	$10,000
Vernon K Krieble Foundation	$10,000
Al Williams Jr Family Foundation	$10,000
Albert and Ethel Herzstein Family Foundation	$10,000
Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation	$10,000
Charles D and Frances K Field Fund	$10,000
Garvy Family Foundation	$10,000
Rowling Foundation	$10,000
The Hamlin Family Foundation	$10,000
National Center for Housing Management	$10,000
Floyd Foundation	$8,000
Wodecroft Foundation	$8,000
Robert and Ann Kennedy Family Foundation	$5,500
George and Reva Graziadio Foundation	$5,000
Robert P Rotella Foundation	$5,000
The McWethy Foundation	$3,000
Eric Javits Family Foundation	$2,500
Logos Charitable Fund	$2,000
Landmark Charitable Foundation	$1,000
Sullivan Family Fund	$500
Berglund Family Foundation	$500
Grand Total	$3,453,700

Wellspring Committee Funding

According to 990 forms, Turning Point received a $50,000 grant from the Wellspring Committee in 2015. Wellspring is a 501(c)(4) organization that is the primary funding source behind the Judicial Crisis Network (JCN), a group dedicated to reforming the supreme court with conservative candidates and policy positions.

990 Forms

Key People

Board of Directors

Name	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	Description
George F. Hamstra	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Charlie Kirk				Y	Y	Y	Y	Founder and Executive Director
William Montgomery				Y	Y	Y	Y	Senior Advisor
Bruno Behrend	Y	Y	Y
Scott Studebaker	Y

Advisory Council

Name	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Adam Andrzejewski	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Elizabeth Ames	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Randal Birkey	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Sally Wagenmaker	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Scott Martin	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Tim Ozinga	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Gary Rabine		Y	Y	Y	Y
Jameson G. Campaigne		Y	Y	Y	Y
Sarah Laszloffy		Y	Y	Y	Y
Stephen Bienko		Y	Y	Y	Y
Willard Helander		Y	Y	Y	Y
Allie Hanley			Y	Y	Y
Anthony Saliba			Y	Y	Y
Barry Russell			Y	Y	Y
Blake Saunders			Y	Y	Y
Brian Kelly			Y	Y	Y
Cameron Powell			Y	Y	Y
Chart Westcott			Y	Y	Y
Don Leighton			Y	Y	Y
Doug Deason			Y	Y	Y
Doug DeGroote			Y	Y	Y
Ed Zeman			Y	Y	Y
Elisha Krauss			Y	Y	Y
G. Louis Graziadio			Y	Y	Y
Gentry Beach			Y	Y	Y
George Strake, Jr.			Y	Y	Y
Gil Baumgarten			Y	Y	Y
Ginni Thomas			Y	Y	Y
Gregory Thornbury			Y	Y	Y
Hanley Sayers III			Y	Y	Y
Henry P. ‘Rip’ McIntosh, IV			Y	Y	Y
Janis Sleeter			Y	Y	Y
Jennifer Schubert-Akin			Y	Y	Y
Jim Holden			Y	Y	Y
Joe Walsh			Y	Y	Y
John Chachas			Y	Y	Y
John Drogin			Y	Y	Y
Jonathan Lusk			Y	Y	Y
Justin Streiff			Y	Y	Y
Karen Wolters			Y	Y	Y
Marc Kruer			Y	Y	Y
Mike Leven			Y	Y	Y
Mike Miller			Y	Y	Y
Nick Adams			Y	Y	Y
Peter Theron			Y	Y	Y
Robert Rubin			Y	Y	Y
Ryan Bethea			Y	Y	Y
Scott Studebaker			Y	Y	Y
Stephen Einhorn			Y	Y	Y
Thomas O. Hicks, Jr.			Y	Y	Y
Tom Cox			Y	Y	Y
Tom Sleeter			Y	Y	Y
Tom Sodeika			Y	Y	Y
William Frech			Y	Y	Y
William Stephens			Y	Y	Y
David Duval				Y	Y
Jennifer Grossman				Y	Y
Jon D. Willis				Y	Y
Andrew S. Borans					Y
David J Blumberg					Y
E.W Turk					Y
Joel Fischer					Y
John A. Catsimatidis, Jr.					Y
Kirk Blumm					Y
Sean Woods					Y
Steve Mariotti					Y
Wayne Newkumet					Y
Brent Hamachek			Y	Y
Greg Noack		Y
Scott Longman		Y
Adam Brandon				Y	Y
Drew Ryun			Y	Y	Y
Foster Friess			Y	Y	Y
Paul Vallely			Y	Y	Y

Speakers Bureau

In addition to those listed below, the TPUSA website suggests: “The National Review Institute also has a list of speakers that TPUSA chapters may invite to campus.”⁹⁷

Name	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	Description
Charlie Kirk	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Founder and Executive Director
Alex Epstein			Y	Y	Y
Antony Davies			Y	Y	Y
Brent Hamachek			Y	Y	Y
Elisha Krauss			Y	Y	Y
Jason Riley			Y	Y	Y
Joe Walsh			Y	Y	Y
Julie Borowski			Y	Y	Y
Katie Kieffer			Y	Y	Y
Larry Schweikart			Y	Y	Y
Lawrence W. (“Larry”) Reed			Y	Y	Y
Nick Adams			Y	Y	Y
Richard K. Vedder			Y	Y	Y
Tomi Lahren			Y	Y	Y
Trevor Burrus			Y	Y	Y
Kimberlin Brown				Y	Y
Kimberly Corban				Y	Y
Tim Young				Y	Y
Antonia Okafor					Y
Austin Paul	Y	Y				Georgia State Director
Justin Krolik	Y	Y
Marko Sukovic	Y	Y
Ryder Selmi	Y	Y				New Hampshire State Directo
Caleb Franz		Y				Columnist
Daniel Herrera		Y
Ethan Wallace		Y
Phillip Stucky		Y
Robert Graham		Y				Freelance Political Campaigns Consultant/Manager
Rosalyn Huff		Y
Berent Batur	Y
Chris Enloe	Y
Lauren Cooley	Y					Florida Field Coordinator
Liz Wheeler	Y
Michael Ilardi	Y
Michael Marrow	Y
Saga Lisslo	Y
Ty Caskey	Y

Staff

Name	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	Description
Charlie Kirk		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Founder and Executive Director of Turning Point USA
Jake Hoffman				Y	Y	Y	Media and Communications Consultant Headquarters
Tyler Bowyer			Y	Y		Y	Chief Operational Officer Headquarters
Crystal Clanton		Y	Y	Y	Y		National Field Director Headquarters
Bill Montgomery			Y	Y	Y		Senior Advisor Headquarters
Alex Seavey				Y	Y		Events Coordinator Headquarters
Cooper Parker				Y	Y		Field Program Associate Headquarters
Emily Cermak				Y	Y		Field Program Associate Headquarters
Ron Feingold				Y	Y		Israel Outreach & Engagement Director Headquarters
Shelby Simmons				Y	Y		Field Program Associate Headquarters
Thomas Hern				Y	Y		Deputy National Field Director Headquarters
Chase Sick			Y	Y			Montana Field Director, Bozeman, MT
Aaron Strom				Y			Virginia Field Director, Lynchburg, VA
Adam Sharf				Y			Oregon Field Director, Eugene, OR
Alex Artiles				Y			Florida Field Director, Tallahassee, FL
Alex Badger				Y			Campus Leadership Director, Raleigh, NC
Alex Chorak				Y			Quartermaster, Mesa, AZ Office
Amy Samuel				Y			Campus Leadership Director, Iowa City, IA
Andrew Sypher				Y			Arizona Field Director, Phoenix, AZ
Anna Bauch				Y			Illinois Field Director, Chicago, IL
Austin Smith				Y			Quartermaster, Mesa, AZ Office
Bethany Bowra				Y			Florida Field Director, Boca Raton, FL
Bobby McNeily				Y			Campus Leadership Director, Chicago, IL
Brad Fox				Y			Campus Leadership Director, Portland, OR
Brandon Johnson				Y			Tennessee Field Director, Knoxville, TN
Brea Walters				Y			Oregon Field Director, Portland, OR
Caleb Hull				Y			Ohio Field Director, Cedarville, OH
Caroline Craig				Y			North Carolina Field Director, Greensboro, NC
Caroline Stout				Y			Operations Manager Headquarters
Chris Melmer				Y			Deputy Virginia State Director, Charlottesville, VA
Christian Costa				Y			South Carolina Field Director, Clemson, SC
Christian Lemke				Y			South Carolina Field Director, Columbia, SC
Corrie Smith				Y			Oregon Field Director, Portland, OR
Dallas Knierman				Y			North Carolina Field Director, Greensboro, NC
Derek Muncy				Y			Ohio Field Director, Dayton, OH
Devin Bilski				Y			Ohio Field Director, Columbus, OH
Dominique Blair				Y			California Field Director, Los Angeles, CA
Driena Sixto				Y			Florida Field Director, Miami, FL
Emily Ethridge				Y			Pennsylvania Field Director, Beaver Falls, PA
Emily Parry				Y			Deputy Arizona State Director, Phoenix, AZ
Gabe Hill				Y			Virginia Field Director, Richmond, VA
Gina Jochimsen				Y			Iowa Field Director, Iowa City, IA
Gunnar Thorderson				Y			Utah Field Director, Salt Lake City, UT
Guyar Vial				Y			Oregon Field Director, Portland, OR
Haeli Moure				Y			Campus Leadership Director, Washington, DC
Jacob Vandever				Y			Oregon Field Director, Corvallis, OR
Jake Corsi				Y			Quartermaster, Mesa, AZ Office
James Ward				Y			Florida Field Director, Pensacola, FL
John Digiacobbe				Y			Ohio Field Director, Oxford, OH
Jonathan Narramore				Y			Texas Field Director, Dallas, TX
Jordan Miller				Y			Virginia Field Director, Washington, D.C.
Jordan Orris				Y			Campus Leadership Director, Gainesville, FL
Julio Rosas				Y			HYPELINE staff Writer Headquarters
Kaytee Moyers				Y			Pennsylvania Field Director, Harrisburg, PA
Keira Hornyak				Y			Florida Field Director, Gainesville, FL
Kennedy Copeland				Y			Campus Leadership Director, Cincinnati, OH
Kevin Kane				Y			Pennsylvania Field Director, Philadelphia, PA
Laura Hutson				Y			Deputy Virginia State Director, Richmond, VA
Law Yoon				Y			Nevada Field Director, Las Vegas, NV
Marie Brown				Y			Virginia Field Director, Blacksburg, VA
Marilyn Alexander				Y			Colorado Field Director Boulder, CO
Nathan Williamson				Y			Michigan Field Director, Kalamazoo, MI
Nick Castle				Y			Florida Field Director, Orlando, FL
Nick Cocca				Y			Ohio Field Director, Akron, OH
Nick VandenNieuwenhof				Y			Campus Leadership Director, Phoenix, AZ
Nina Doll				Y			Michigan Field Director, Detroit, MI
Patrick Wool				Y			Illinois Field Director, Chicago, IL
Rebecca Oakley				Y			Quartermaster, Mesa, AZ Office
Sam Correia				Y			California Field Director, Sacramento, CA
Samantha Wilson				Y			Illinois Field Director, Carbondale, IL
Sarah Swanbeck				Y			Campus Leadership Director, Austin, TX
Shialee Grooman				Y			Quartermaster, Mesa, AZ Office
Spencer Roesener				Y			Campus Leadership Director, Nashville, TN
Spencer White				Y			West Virginia Field Director, Huntington, WV
Tanner Lloyd				Y			Oregon Field Director, Corvallis, OR
Tanner Milazzo				Y			Indiana Field Director, Indianapolis, IN
Taylor Montgomery				Y			Florida Field Director, Tallahassee, FL
Thomas Tullis				Y			Oregon Field Director, Eugene, OR
Timon Prax				Y			Ohio Field Director, Cleveland, OH
Troy Meeker				Y			Quartermaster, Mesa, AZ Office
Zoe Baumann				Y			Oregon Field Director, Corvallis, OR
Bree Binder		Y	Y				Texas Field Director \| Houston, TX
Darya Fomitchev		Y	Y				Executive Assistant
Faith Braverman		Y	Y				Texas Field Director \| San Antonio, TX
Katherine Sodeika		Y	Y				Events Coordinator
Stephanie Conway		Y	Y				Texas Field Director \| Dallas, TX
Caitlin Butler			Y				Florida Field Director \| Orlando, FL
Calli Brauer			Y				Administrative Assistant
Carmen Foskey			Y				Pennsylvania Field Director \| Philadelphia, PA
Cheryl Wellman			Y				Payroll/HR Manager
Devon Mirsky			Y				Pacific West Regional Director, Los Angeles, CA
Gillian Castillo			Y				Florida Field Director \| Tallahassee, FL
Holly Barajas			Y				Shipping and Processing Director
Jake Dagel			Y				Iowa Field Director \| Des Moines, IA
Joshua Thifault			Y				Ohio Field Director \| Columbus, OH
Kara Hamilton			Y				Illinois Field Director \| Chicago, IL
Nathan Wirebaugh			Y				Ohio Field Director \| Toledo, OH
Tex Fischer			Y				Ohio/PA Regional Director, Youngstown, OH
Jennifer C. Babbington	Y	Y					Chief Operations Officer
Kevin Babbington	Y	Y					Technology advisor
Laura Reigle	Y	Y
William Montgomery	Y	Y					Senior Advisor for Turning Point USA
Brett Hill		Y					North Carolina Field Coordinator \| Raleigh, NC
Dan Lipka		Y					Social Media Director
Ellie Wessel		Y					Communications Manager
Lauren Cooley		Y					Florida Field Coordinator \| Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Marko Sukovic		Y
Sadie Schultz		Y					Office Manager
Samantha Golden		Y					Illinois Field Coordinator \| Champaign, IL

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September 2021

As reported at The Guardian, a leaked document of the membership of the secretive Council for National Policy (CNP) showed that TPUSA’s Charlie Kirk had become a member.⁹⁸

The group’s membership includes a mix of “Conservative movement heavyweights” like Lisa B Nelson, Chief Executive of the American Legislative Exchange Council; Eugene Mayer, president of the Federalist Society; Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform; Daniel Schneider, executive director of the American Conservative Union, among others.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) describes the CNP as “a highly secretive group, is a key venue where mainstream conservatives and extremists mix.”⁹⁹

“Other members of the group represent organizations that operate under a veil of secrecy, with conservative ‘dark money’ organizations well represented,” The Guardian noted, with examples including Lawson Bader of Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund and Richard Graber of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

March 2021

As reported by Documented, TPUSA was working on the launch of an “America-first education” that would target children in K-12 education. The program would go by the. name “Turning Point Academy.”¹⁰⁰

It aims to train thousands of teachers beginning in the fall to “transform” the way our children “perceive freedom, government, and free enterprise” using a TPUSA designed “America-first” curriculum.¹⁰¹

According to a TPUSA description of the project:¹⁰²

“Turning Point Academy will develop and distribute K-12 curricula focused on American history, our founding principles, the Constitution, and economics. These curricula will help all educators, including homeschool parents, provide their children and students with a reliable, honest, and quality America-first education—all at NO COST.”
“Turning Point Academy will also train thousands of educators nationwide on how to use Turning Point Academy curricular in their classroom and how they can adopt new lessons to help transform the way our young people perceive freedom, government, and free enterprise.”
“Turning Point Academy is America’s best hope to inspire countless young people to love America again.”

January 7, 2021

Documented reported TPUSA’s lobbying arm, Turning Point Action, was among a list of groups ” Participating in the March to Save America”—the event that preceded the US capitol riot.¹⁰³ The groups appeared on a since-deleted page on the since-taken-down website for March to Save America.¹⁰⁴

October 9, 2020

CNN reported Facebook had banned marketing firm Rally Forge, which had worked on behalf of Turning Point USA running fake accounts criticising former Vice President Joe Biden and praising President Trump.¹⁰⁵

March, 2019

TPUSA leaders Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens toured the UK alongside the newly formed Turning Point UK branch of the organisation. Events were billed as a “Campus Clash”, with a chance for attendees to “challenge the Turning Point team,” and were held in London, Nottingham and Brighton, where Sussex University Conservative Society hosted the group.¹⁰⁶

June 13, 2018

A copy of a Young America’s Foundation (YAF) memo critical of TPUSA was leaked to the press. According to the internal memo:¹⁰⁷

“The long-term damage TPUSA could inflict on conservative students and the Conservative Movement can no longer be ignored.
Although it runs counter to our instincts to advise students against becoming involved with other conservative organizations, students deserve to be warned about TPUSA. “

A YAF National spokesman confirmed the veracity of the memo,¹⁰⁸and former YAF employee Caleb Hull wrote on Twitter that “everything in this memo is true.”¹⁰⁹

According to YAF, after the press obtained a copy of the memo, “a Turning Point USA spokesperson distorted what Young America’s Foundation was communicating.”¹¹⁰ In response, YAF released the full text of the May 25, 2018 memo “to set the record straight.”¹¹¹

The memo highlighted Kirk’s potential skirting of 501(c)(3) non-profit rules:

“Several news outlets have reported that Kirk’s activities on behalf of TPUSA may have crossed a line in violation of laws regulating 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. The alleged violations call into question Kirk’s judgment—not only about risking the loss of TPUSA’s non-profit status—but also about giving credence to the Left’s narrative that conservative nonprofits should be more heavily regulated.”¹¹²

The memo includes an email from Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) warning its supporters of how TPUSA had illegally obtained, and potentially used one if the group’s private membership lists.

“[U]nlawfully obtaining and using YAL’s private membership list for their own purposes just went too far and shouldn’t go unaddressed,” the YAL email noted.

The memo listed a number of offenses listed by other organizations against TPUSA including:

“Paid TPUSA staff members attending other organizations’ events under false pretenses and attempting to recruit for TPUSA from the other organizations’ existing members
“Paid TPUSA staff members claiming credit for other organizations’ events by posting pictures on social media of students with TPUSA signs in front of other organizations’ events
Kirk making knowingly false statements about the longtime leader of another conservative organization to a supporter of that organization”

Other charges in the memo include boosting membership “with racist and Nazi sympathizers,” and of sponsoring “humiliating” events on college campuses.

December 19, 2017

Turning Point USA held its “Student Action Summit.” Trump administration officials and family members spoke at the event including Donald Trump Jr.,¹¹³ Lara Trump, Wilbur Ross, and Sebastian Gorka. Anthony Scaramucci was scheduled to attend but was not present at the summit.¹¹⁴ ¹¹⁵

At the Student Action Summit, Sebastian Gorka told TPUSA members and livestream watchers that they must actively work to support Trump’s agenda:¹¹⁶

“Push back on the lies. You’re all members of Turning Point USA team now. I’m going to make all of you official members. I don’t have any member cards to give. You can make them, right? Laminated. But you are now officially all members of team Trump, okay? And I want you to act like that. I want you to consider yourself part of the team and I want you to think about at the beginning of the day, when you wake up, say your prayers and ask yourself what am I going to do for the president today? What am I going to do for his agenda? At the end of the day, say your prayers and ask yourself, did I achieve what I wanted to achieve? Every waking day, okay. I’ll give you one day off. One day off a week.”

During his speech, Pat Caddell expressed the importance of the monetary support that TPUSA receives from Lee and Allie Hanley. The Hanley family owns Hanley Petroleum and Lee Hanley was a member of the National Petroleum Council before his passing in 2016. Allie Hanley remains a member of TPUSA’s advisory board.¹¹⁷

Alex Epstein, founder of the Center for Industrial Progress (CIP), was a featured speaker. He declared to the audience, “we’re not concerned about climate change, per se. […] The question is not how much we are changing the climate, that’s not the fundamental question. That’s the ‘Earth framework’ that says thou shalt not change the Earth. I don’t believe that at all.”¹¹⁸

Sponsors of TPUSA’s event were not consistent across all materials, with one set listed on the TPSA website in 2017, another list but as of 2018, and a final list in the event materials:

Sponsor	2017 – Archived TPUSA Website¹¹⁹	2018 – TPUSA Website¹²⁰	Event Materials ¹²¹
Alliance Defending Freedom	Y		Y
American Conservative Coalition	Y	Y	Y
Bill Whittle.com			Y
Campus Reform			Y
Empowered			Y
Foundation for Economic Education	Y	Y	Y
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education	Y	Y	Y
Future Female Leaders	Y	Y	Y
Generation Opportunity Week	Y
Grassroots Leadership Academy	Y
Job Creators Network	Y	Y	Y
Kira Media			Y
Leadership Institute			Y
National School Choice Week	Y		Y
Patriot Threads		Y
Prager University		Y	Y
Reason Foundation	Y	Y	Y
Stand With Us			Y
The Heritage Foundation	Y		Y
The King’s College			Y
U.S. Term Limits		Y	Y
USA Convention of States Action		Y	Y
Vote America		Y	Y
Young Jewish Conservatives			Y
Young Women for America	Y	Y	Y
Zionist Organization of America	Y		Y

SAS2017 speakers included:¹²²

Name	Affiliation
Alex Epstein
Allie Stuckey	The Blaze
Ann Coulter
Anthony Scaramucci	Trump Administration
Antonia Okafor
Ben Shapiro
Bill Whittle
Brian Kilmeade	Fox News
Cabot Phillips	Fox News
Candace Owens
Charlie Kirk
David Rubin
Dennis Prager
Dinesh D’Souza
Donald Trump Jr.	Trump Administration
Doug Deason
Greg Gutfeld	Fox News
Guy Benson
James O’Keefe
Jeanine Pirro	Fox News
Jesse Watters	Fox News
Joe Walsh
Kayleigh McEnany (*Cancelled)	Trump Administration
Kelli Ward
Lara Trump	Trump Administration
Larry Schweikart
Lauren Cooley	Red Alert Politics
Lawrence B. Jones II	The Blaze
Lawrence Reed	Foundation for Economic Education
Mark Meckler
Pat Caddell
Pete Hegseth
Ron DeSantis
Scott Walker
Sebastian Gorka	Trump Administration
Tomi Lahren	Fox News
Wilbur Ross	Trump Administration

October 2017

The Kent State chapter of Turning Point USA faced public ridicule and social media backlash following an event where students wore adult diapers and sucked on pacifiers to protest safe spaces. The leader of the Kent State chapter resigned and announced the chapter would dissolve after the controversy.¹²³

“We support all of our chapters to do innovative and creative activism events,” Charlie Kirk said in an interview with Breitbart. “Some ideas work great, others get mixed reaction. We are strong opponents of the safe space, micro-aggression, trigger warning culture that has been created on campuses. The efficacy remains to be seen but the message is consistent.”¹²⁴

The chapter’s leader publicly resigned and announced the dissolution of the chapter following what she believed was inadequate response by Turning Point USA to the ridicule.¹²⁵

Kent State’s Turning Point USA chapter president and campus coordinator Kaitlin Bennett wrote a letter addressed to Turning Point USA field director Frankie O’Laughlin and regional manager Alana Mastrangelo voicing her complaints. Bennett claimed Turning Point USA had known that the protesters at the event belonged to Young Americans for Liberty and not Turning Point, but that TPUSA still let members “face the consequences of online harassment.” Excerpts from her resignation letter below:¹²⁶

“I was embarrassed to have been left alone to deal with the aftermath of the safe space event, and even lied about by Turning Point national. You two approved the event but took zero responsibility to save face for yourselves. Not only did I invite you to attend our entire free speech week, but you even told me you would help me apply for a grant for the event. I was also made aware by other Turning Point chapters under your watch that you were fully aware that Young Americans for Liberty members were the ones who dressed up as children, and that instead of putting the blame where it belonged, you not only distanced yourself from the event, but you let my chapter face the consequences of online harassment. I am appalled that national headquarters lied about, and put one of their own chapters under the bus just so they wouldn’t upset another organization.”

She also criticized Charlie Kirk for being “egotistic enough to put their face on stupid memes”:

“I have realized how much of a shithole organization Turning Point USA is, and am glad I got out of this bullshit before I invested my whole life into it, let alone just my senior year of college. Now that I have a clear conscience and have no desire to continue my employment with Turning Point, I will have the time to find a real job, something I recommend for you. Maybe answering to business professionals rather than college dropouts, egotistic enough to put their face on stupid memes, will give you the leadership skills you desperately need for your positions.”

September 26 – October 9, 2016

TPUSA student chapters endorsed “Fossil Fuels Saves Lives Week,”¹²⁷ a campaign“¹²⁸ with the intent of conveying “the benefits of fossil fuels while refuting many of the widespread myths about this life-saving energy source.”¹²⁹ The campaign included pro-fossil fuel memes¹³⁰ and graphics for use on social media.¹³¹

Name	Partner (2016 Chapter Handbook) ¹³²	Partner (2017-2018 Chapter Handbook)¹³³	Partner (Listed on Website, 2018) ¹³⁴
America’s Future Foundation			Y
Ayn Rand Institute			Y
David Horowitz Freedom Center			Y
Foundation for Economic Education (FEE)	Y	Y
Future Female Leaders			Y
Heritage Action for America			Y
Hypeline	Y
In the Constitution			Y
Intercollegiate Studies Institute			Y
Job Creators Network			Y
Leadership Institute	Y	Y	Y
National Review/National Review Institute	Y	Y	Y
National School Choice Week			Y
Open the Books			Y
Opportunity Lives			Y
Prager University (PragerU)	Y	Y	Y
Red Alert Politics			Y
The Atlas Network		Y
The Atlas Society			Y
The Heartland Institute	Y		Y
The Heritage Foundation		Y
The Steamboat Institute			Y
Victims of Communism		Y

David Horowitz Freedom Center

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “the Freedom Center has become the premier financier of anti-Muslim voices and radical ideologies.”¹³⁵ Charlie Kirk spoke at the Freedom Center’s “Restoration Weekend” in 2017, where he described the David Horowitz Foundation as a “cornerstone of the growth of Turning Point U.S.A.”¹³⁶

Kirk also personally thanked David Horowitz, saying “I can’t thank you enough for your mentorship and guidance and advice throughout the years, so thank you.” At the same event in 2015, Charlie stated, “I can honestly say that our success now as an organization — we have over 61 full-time staff, 53 in the field — is in large part because of the embracing of Horowitz Freedom Center attendees, staff and Mike Finch.”¹³⁷

Heartland Institute

The Heartland Institute has prided itself on being at the forefront of denying man-made climate change, and has been funded by Exxon, the Koch brothers, the Mercer family and big tobacco. Heartland has promoted TPUSA and held numerous speaking events with Kirk.¹³⁸ At a Heartland event in 2017, Kirk said, “The Heartland institute was a partner from day one to help us with supplies, material and assistance and good will and really helped start a movement on college campuses.”¹³⁹