Protesters chanted ‘No Hate at Fresno State.’ Others countered with ‘America First’ and ‘Putin’
“No hate at Fresno State!”
A deafening, near-continuous chant of those five words drew the attention of unsuspecting students leaving classes Friday afternoon at Fresno State.
The chant came from dozens of protesters — a mix of students, faculty, and community members — gathered outside McClane Hall in protest of the Fresno State College Republicans’ “Future of America.” The event featured three speakers who have previously appeared at a recent event organized by Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist internet personality.
Jose Solorio, a graduate student at Fresno State who helped organize the protest, said demonstrators wanted to show up for marginalized students on campus who feel targeted by white nationalist rhetoric, particularly students of color and LGBTQ students.
“We want them to know that just because people — the vocal minority — is inviting these extremists and this hate speech onto our campus, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t an overwhelming majority of us out there that support them.”
John Doyle and Kai Schwemmer were listed on an AFPAC flier as “special guests,” along with other more well-known right-wing personalities, Laura Loomer and Milo Yiannopoulos. The event received national attention because attendees were encouraged to chant “Putin” shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Republican leaders also criticized Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul A. Gosar of Arizona for speaking at the event.
The three guests scheduled to speak at Friday’s event refer to themselves as Christians and conservatives. Doyle calls himself a “neo-Gastonist,” a phrase idealizing the character Gaston in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Both Doyle and Schwemmer have made posts expressing support of Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two people and wounded another who were protesting police brutality.
Solorio said protesters also wanted to send a message to the university administration that they were fed up with what he described as the university’s failure to protect those students from hate speech and discrimination.
Fresno State has responded that the views of the three speakers “run contrary to the University’s core values.” At the same time, the university has stated that they are committed to free expression and that the College Republicans used the appropriate channels to get the event approved.
In an additional statement provided to The Bee on Friday afternoon, Fresno State spokesperson Lisa Boyles Bell wrote that when the Student Involvement office learned off-campus guests would attend the College Republicans’ event, “they advised the club to attend an Event Review Committee meeting for any future events where the public is invited.”
A tense but peaceful exchange at Fresno State
The protesters did not intend to engage with the attendees of the “Future of America” event themselves on Thursday, according to Solorio.
That became difficult to avoid, however, once the attendees joined the protesters outside McClane Hall.
The exchange between the two groups remained nonviolent but also tense. For several minutes, each side exchanged chants, trying to drown out the other.
The protesters continued to shout “No Hate at Fresno State,” while the attendees took to chanting “America First,” “U.S.A,” and “Putin.”
Two of the speakers featured at the event, Schwemmer and Doyle, took turns shouting retorts into their megaphones, including “We are not hateful people” — but were barely audible over the protesters’ chants.
Doyle did not respond to The Bee’s request for additional comment.
A minute before the College Republican-hosted event was scheduled to start, most of the attendees filed back inside McClane Hall while the protesters paused the chanting so individual speakers could come forward.
Isla Dudley, a junior at Fresno State who identifies as a trans woman, took the megaphone first, voicing the fear of discrimination she faces.
She was soon interrupted by a man who earlier was seen waving an American flag amid the attendees of the College Republican-hosted event and who refused to share his name with The Fresno Bee.
He shouted, “You’re not a woman,” and “Tell the truth.”
The protesters countered the man with chants of “F--- this fascist” and stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a wall between the man and Dudley until the man left.
“It’s kind of a terrifying experience being a trans woman in the Central Valley,” Dudley told The Bee before the altercation. “Hate speech, white nationalism (and) anti-LGBT sentiment have no place on our campus.”
Last year, the club hosted another speaker event with white nationalist views. The speaker, Tyler Russell, hosts the live stream show called Canada First. The club also was criticized for making fun of a former Army medic online. The university issued a statement emphasizing its support for veterans. The club’s Twitter account was suspended after that incident.
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab at its website.
