A vile group chat among Young Republican leaders across the country that included antisemitic and racist messages obtained and published by Politico has led to some members losing their jobs and others distancing themselves from the remarks.
The Michigan Young Republicans chapter was mentioned in the report. In one exchange, Kansas Young Republicans Chair Laken Dwyer told national Vice Chair Anthony Giunta Michigan’s Young Republicans pledged to “vote for the most right wing person” to lead the organization.
“Great. I love Hitler,” Giunta replied.
Dwyer reacted with a smiley face.
Neither the Michigan Young Republicans nor the Michigan Republican Party responded to Politico’s reporting, which exposed numerous slurs and references to Nazism, white supremacy, and violence. Other messages called Black people “monkeys” and “watermelon people,” and mused about putting political opponents in gas chambers.
But Krish Mathrani, youth chair of the Michigan Republican Party, condemned the comments in a statement posted Tuesday on X.
“I am deeply disturbed and outraged by the contents of the leaked Young Republicans group chat messages,” Mathrani, whose parents emigrated from India to the U.S., wrote. “These messages — filled with racist epithets, antisemitic conspiracies, references to praise of Hitler, and dehumanizing language — are grotesque and must be denounced.”
He added that Republicans “expressions of extremism and bigotry must be repudiated.”
Mathrani continued, “Our institutions must adopt rigorous vetting and education to ensure this ideology never takes root again. Every Republican, every conservative leader, and every person of conscience must condemn this publicly and immediately.”
That didn’t happen. In fact, when the National Young Republicans issued a statement denouncing the “vile and inexcusable language,” other conservatives responded with their own brand of hate.
“Stop being giant pussies,” Mike Davis, a former Republican Senate Judiciary Committee staffer and founder and president of the Article III Project (A3P), a group created to advance conservative judicial appointments, wrote on X. “Stop playing by the left’s rules. When Democrats force out Virginia AG candidate Jay Jones for his violent threats, then I’ll start pretending to care about banter among college students.”
The message was retweeted by Meshawn Maddock, former co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party and wife of state Rep. Matt Maddock. She endorsed Mathrani’s run for youth chair.
Even Mathrani’s own social media posts raise questions about his role in spreading hate.
On Aug. 23, he posted a message on X reading “Hog on a hog” alongside photos of U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate, posing on a Harley motorcycle. He has frequently retweeted far-right figures such as Stephen Miller, the Trump adviser who helped craft the administration’s Muslim ban, family-separation policy, and other hard-line immigration measures. Mathrani has also shared transphobic remarks, including one from television host Nancy Grace on June 1 that read, “As for the gender benders and groomers, now is as good a time as ever to go touch some grass and come back to planet earth. The rest of us are done playing make-believe.”
When one X user noted that Meshawn Maddock hadn’t denounced the leaked messages, Maddock responded simply, “BLAH.” Maddock is known for her incendiary rhetoric, booing Black Lives Matter demonstrators, and busing Trumpers to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Metro Times couldn’t immediately reach Michigan’s Young Republicans or the Michigan Republican Party for comment.
Democrats on Thursday called out Republicans for refusing to condemn the hateful messages.
“These messages are absolutely reprehensible and have no place in Michigan or anywhere else,” Curtis Hertel, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, said. “The fact that Michigan Young Republicans are linked to this report makes the silence from Michigan’s Republican leadership even more alarming. Every single leader has a moral obligation to condemn all forms of antisemitism, racism, and hatred – no exceptions and no qualifications.”
Hertel demand a response from Republicans.
“I’m calling on the Michigan Republican Party, Mike Rogers, John James, and every Republican leader in this state to join us in condemning these hateful messages,” Hertel said. “This is a moment for all of us to show that hatred has no home in Michigan, regardless of political party.”
The Young Republicans is an organization for members of the U.S. Republican Party between the ages of 18 and 40 that assists conservative political candidates and causes.