Leaked Young Republicans Group Chat Includes Racial Slurs, Hitler Praise: ‘If We Ever Had a Leak of This Chat We Would Be Cooked’

(Matthias Balk/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Politico obtained the Telegram chat between Young Republican leaders, and the messages include racial slurs and references to putting their enemies in a gas chamber.

The messages published by Politico on Tuesday span seven months (between January and August) and include chats from Young Republican leaders in New York, Arizona, and Vermont. According to the outlet, William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair, used racial slurs, and Peter Giunta, who at the time was chair of the organization, said people who did not vote for him to become chair of the Young Republican National Federation needed to “go to the gas chamber.”

“Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic,” Joe Maligno, general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans, wrote.

“I’m ready to watch people burn now,” Annie Kaykaty, New York’s national committeewoman, added.

Politico reported:

Since POLITICO began making inquiries, one member of the group chat is no longer employed at their job and another’s job offer was rescinded. Prominent New York Republicans, including Rep. Elise Stefanik and state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, have denounced the chat. And festering resentments among Young Republicans have now turned into public recriminations, including allegations of character assassination and extortion.

According to the outlet, epithets like “f****t,” “retarded” and “n**ga” appeared more than 250 times in the chat logs.

Luke Mosiman, the chair of the Arizona Young Republicans, asked in one chat whether others were watching an NBA game, and Giunta responded that he’d “go to the zoo if I wanted to watch monkey play ball.”

Ortt called for those involved in the chat to resign from their positions.

“I was shocked and disgusted to learn about the racist, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic comments attributed to members of the New York State Young Republicans,” he said. “This behavior is indefensible and has no place in our party or anywhere in public life.”

A spokesperson for Stefanik also condemned the chat.

“According to the description provided by Politico, the comments were heinous, antisemitic, racist and unacceptable,” the spokesperson said.

In another exchange, Giunta declared, “I love Hitler” after being told that one young Republican in Michigan promised to vote for the “most right-wing person” to lead the organization. Giunta went on to lose the race to New York state Assemblymember Mike Reilly.

Giunta provided a response to the thousands of pages of chats, calling it a “coordinated” attack. He also apologized for the “insensitive and inexcusable language.”

“These logs were sourced by way of extortion and provided to POLITICO by the very same people conspiring against me,” he said.

Walker also apologized, but suggested the chat may have been altered. Hendrix, meanwhile, is no longer employed by the group in Kansas.

At one point, Walker expressed concern that the chat could leak and backfire on them.

“If we ever had a leak of this chat we would be cooked fr fr,” he wrote.

Check out the Politico report here.