Arizona State University is investigating a potential hate crime against one of its staff after members of Turning Point USA followed and harassed the professor, then shoved him to the ground.
Video footage posted by Turning Point, a rightwing youth organization known for its aggressive tactics, shows a cameraman and another person questioning David Boyles, an English instructor and the co-founder of Drag Story Hour Arizona, last Wednesday after Boyles taught a class on LGBTQ+ youth in pop culture and politics.
In the video, Boyles, who is queer, does not engage with Turning Point’s repeated questions, such as “How long have you been attracted to minors?” and why he hates America, accusing Boyles of wanting to “push sodomy on to young people”. A Turning Point representative walks side by side with Boyles and peppers him with questions, telling Boyles at one point, “You can’t run.”
At one point, Boyles moves toward the camera, though it is not clear if he makes contact with the cameraman.
Turning Point claimed Boyles “assaulted, pushed, and clawed at our cameraman”. Security footage released by ASU shows the other Turning Point member then shoving Boyles to the ground.
Boyles posted a picture on social media showing his bloodied face and said he tried to block the cameraman because he knew they would post video online to “inspire even more harassment against me”.
“My physical injuries are relatively minor and I’m doing OK,” Boyles wrote. “But I’m also feeling angry, violated, embarrassed, and despairing at the fact that we have come to normalize this kind of harassment and violence against anyone who tries to support LGBTQ+ youth (ironically the topic of the class I had just finished teaching) or just LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized groups in general.”
ASU confirmed it is investigating whether the assault on Boyles was motivated by “bias or prejudice”. Turning Point told media outlets its cameraman plans to seek assault charges.
Boyles is listed on Turning Point’s “professor watchlist”, which targets college professors for their work or views and results in harassment. The watchlist says it documents professors who “discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom”.
After the incident, ASU president Michael Crow and the university condemned the attack on Boyles. “Cowards that they are, and so confident in the legality and appropriateness of their actions, the Turning Point USA ‘reporter’ and ‘cameraman’ then ran away from the scene before police arrived,” Crow wrote. “This is the kind of outrageous conduct that you would expect to see from bullies in a high-school cafeteria.”
Crow has previously asked Turning Point to remove ASU professors from its watchlist but he said he never received a response. Crow and the university have also allowed Turning Point to host events on campus, which has led to criticism, the Arizona Republic reported.
Turning Point and its leaders, including founder Charlie Kirk, play a large role in rightwing politics, particularly online and on social media, as the group embraced Trump and his supporters. The Associated Press recently reported on how group leaders saw their wealth grow through Trump’s “Make America great again” movement, but that the group’s track record on helping Republicans get elected is spotty, especially in Arizona, where it is based.
