A Turning Point USA event featuring detransitioner and activist Chloe Cole at the University of Washington was planned to take place Wednesday but was canceled due to the recent killing of a trans student on campus, along with threats of the event getting shut down by certain activist groups.
The TPUSA chapter at the University of Washington issued a statement on Instagram explaining the reasons for postponing the event.
Days prior to the event, on Instagram, UW Divest News called for followers to protest the event, calling Cole a “transphobic right-wing grifter.”
The group – while promoting pro-Palestinian and pro-trans causes – further instructed protesters to “bring flags, drums, or anything to make some noise! Email UW admin to cancel the event and ban Turning Point USA from campus!”
“Before Charlie Kirk’s assassination, I think I would have been less careful,” Cole said in a video posted Tuesday on X. “But the times have changed and speaking on a university campus in 2026 can come with deadly consequences. We are postponing this event because of this reality.”
“But there is a difference between being brave and being stupid,” Cole stated firmly. “This is not a win for Antifa because truth will always win. Christ will always prevail. God created each and every single one of us in his image, and there are only two sexes. That is the exact message I was going to take to the University of Washington tomorrow. I will be back. Not just at UW, but to many campuses across the country. Because once conversations stop, that is when the violence begins.”
“We’re incredibly proud of our student leaders, the local chapter, and Chloe, all of whom did everything in their power to push forward with the event, and when it became clear they could not do so safely, committed immediately to rescheduling,” TPUSA Spokesman Andrew Kolvet told Fox News.
“There’s been a lot of debate in the media about whether political violence is in fact a ‘both sides’ issue, and yet TPUSA continues to face violence and threats of violence from the radical left when we attempt to peacefully assemble and debate ideals,” he stated further.
