A group chat for conservative students at Florida International University (FIU) has been exposed, revealing a torrent of racist, antisemitic and homophobic slurs. The leak has prompted calls for resignations and disciplinary action from Republican leaders in Florida.
The WhatsApp group, created by Abel Alexander Carvajal, secretary of Miami-Dade County’s Republican party and a law student at FIU, was intended for college Republicans. However, leaked logs published by the Miami Herald showed participants using the N-word more than 400 times and discussing violent acts against Black people. William Bejerano was the most prolific user, calling for crucifixions and beheadings.
Dariel Gonzalez, the recruitment chair, repeatedly used the term “coloured” and wrote “Avoid the coloureds like the plague.” Ian Valdes, president of the FIU chapter of Turning Point USA, changed the group’s name to reference a Nazi mythical civilisation and made antisemitic comments. Carvajal admitted creating the chat but claimed he was unaware of the offensive messages until contacted by the Herald; however, he had deleted numerous messages and used racial slurs himself.
Kevin Cooper, the first Jewish chair of the Miami-Dade Republican Party, condemned the chat and called for Carvajal’s resignation. State Representative Juan Porras and three state senators joined the calls, urging removal from party leadership. The revelations came as Florida Republicans advanced a bill to rename a road near FIU after Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA.
