State GOP disbands Young Republican group after racist, antisemitic texts revealed

ALBANY — Top Republican officials on Friday disbanded the New York State Young Republicans organization, following reports that members in online chats joked about gas chambers and slavery and praised Adolf Hitler.

"Today, the Executive Committee of the New York Republican State Committee unanimously voted to suspend authorization of the New York State Young Republicans following a report of a group chat that included racist and antisemitic language on the part of leadership," state GOP Chairman Ed Cox said in a statement issued after a virtual meeting of party leaders.
"The Young Republicans was already grossly mismanaged, and vile language of the sort made in the group chat has no place in our party or its subsidiary organizations," Cox said.

The action stems from a Politico report which detailed seven months of hateful, racists text messages from young GOP activists in New York, Vermont, Arizona and Kansas.

For example, Peter Giunta, a former chairman of the New York State Young Republicans at the time, posted "I love Hitler," Politico reported. In one exchange, Guinta, when asked if New Yorkers in the chat were watching an NBA playoff game, responded: "I’d go to the zoo if I wanted to watch monkeys play ball."

Some joked about putting their opponents in gas chambers, a Nazi/Hitler reference. Others praised people who they believed supported slavery. Bobby Walker, who was made the group’s chairman in August, called rape "epic."

"If we ever had a leak of this chat, we would be cooked," Walker posted in one message.

Kansas Republicans disbanded its Young Republicans group right after the story broke. On Friday, New York Republicans did the same.

The meeting lasted about 45 minutes and the vote was unanimous. 

Afterward, Cox, in a statement, said: "Moving forward the New York State Young Republicans shall be suspended and it is the hope of the New York Republican State Committee that it can be reconstituted at a later date."

GOP officials said they wanted to deal with the matter soon after the story broke.

"Mature adults deal with bad behavior swiftly and effectively and that's what the New York Republican Party did today," Jesse Garcia, Suffolk County GOP chairman and vice-chair of the state GOP executive committee, told Newsday. "The vile comments by those individuals have no place in society and certainly no place in the Republican Party."

Cox and Garcia said the GOP delivered "accountability" with its actions and contended Democrats have failed to call out vile and antisemitic rhetoric by their party members.

But Democrats have noted the White House and other Republicans have shrugged off the comments of Young Republicans revealed in the Politico story. They point out Vice President JD Vance, when asked, didn't condemn the remarks but said: " ... Don't focus on what kids say in group chats."

Gov. Kathy Hochul called it "deflecting and non-stop excuses."

"Everyone from the President on down must forcefully condemn this," Hochul wrote on social media.

Walker had been elected chairman of the Young Republicans in August. In a statement he issued then, Walker said he supported "victory at all costs."

He had been involved in state politics for a decade and most recently had been a communications staffer for Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt of Niagara County — but had left that post in early October, an official said. 

Ortt has condemned the rhetoric, saying: "This behavior is indefensible and has no place in our party or anywhere in public life."

Giunta has been fired from his job as chief of staff to Assemb. Mike Reilly (R-Staten Island), the Staten Island Advance reported.

Walker will no longer have a role, according to multiple reports, on the congressional campaign of State Sen. Peter Oberacker, who is running for a Catskills/Hudson Valley seat.

On Long Island, DawnMarie Kuhn, the Young Republicans' recording secretary and Islip town board candidate, condemned the chat and told Newsday's The Point she was not a participant. On Friday, she posted on Facebook,  "I'm devastated that the hard work of so many has been overshadowed by a few individuals and those hate filled messages. Those actions do not represent YR values and certainly do not represent mine."

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy