Minneapolis councilwoman faces backlash after saying Turning Point event ‘threatens safety of students’

Turning Point's founder, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated two weeks ago. Councilwoman Robin Wonsley claimed the group's U of M event Monday night was "meant to sanitize and whitewash hate speech."

By
Jenna Gloeb
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Left: A group of students attending Monday's event at the University of Minnesota (Liz Collin/Alpha News); Right: Robin Wonsley/City of Minneapolis

Minneapolis City Councilwoman Robin Wonsley is under fire after a series of posts on X accusing the University of Minnesota of “rolling out the red carpet” for the conservative student group founded by Charlie Kirk.

A sold-out crowd packed Northrop Auditorium on the U of M campus Monday night for the first stop of Turning Point USA’s “This Is The Turning Point Tour,” gathering to both mourn and celebrate Kirk, the group’s founder, who was assassinated two weeks ago while headlining a similar campus event in Utah.

Wonsley calls event a danger to community

“Tonight, UMN is hosting an event with Turning Point USA, a far-right conservative group founded by Charlie Kirk. This is an absurd decision by the UMN admin and threatens the safety of students and our community as a whole,” Wonsley wrote.

“We have witnessed the university silence and attempt to criminalize protests against genocide or workers rights, but tonight they are rolling out the red carpet for a group known for being racist, transphobic, islamophobic, misogynistic, and more. This is completely unacceptable,” Wonsley wrote in a follow up post, adding:

“Events like this won’t help curry favor with the Trump admin. All it does is demonstrate weakness. Tonight is meant to sanitize and whitewash hate speech. Shame on the UMN and Rebecca Cunningham for failing our most vulnerable communities while uplifting the most hateful voices.”

Wonsley also sent an email to constituents in her official capacity as a council member, saying she was “surprised that this event was still being put on” after Kirk was assassinated.

“I want to recognize that this event stirred deep anxiety among many Ward 2 residents, particularly those belonging to groups who have often been the focus of attacks and bigoted rhetoric from Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA,” she wrote.

“There is widespread documentation of the hate speech Charlie Kirk and Turning Point espoused and understandably members of the community had safety concerns about the presence of TPU supporters on campus and whether they would wander into our surrounding communities, such as Cedar Riverside, which is largely Somali.”

Online backlash grows 

Her post quickly lit up social media — but perhaps not in the way she intended.

Fox News contributor Guy Benson fired back with a blunt response: “Bullsh-t. Bull. Sh-t. We are sick of this embarrassing, anti-speech slop. We reject your moronic tyranny.”

Conservative writer Mary Katherine Ham wrote: “This is the only decision an administration can make. It is righteous and those who would use the danger of an assassin’s veto to stop it are rewarding the worst of humanity. Perverse.” 

Former NCAA swimmer and activist Riley Gaines piled on, pointing out what she appears to view as a pattern among Minnesota’s Democratic leaders: “Between the mayor doing campaign ads in Somali, the Governor hoping to wake up to ‘news’ about the President, and a councilwoman saying things like this…. Minneapolis is deeply troubled.”

Conservative commentator Michael Knowles, who headlined the U of M event, made an appearance on Fox & Friends Tuesday morning, praising students who pressed on with the event despite heightened tensions.

“They will not be silenced — they’re going to show up for Charlie and for our country,” he said, noting it was TPUSA’s first campus event since Kirk’s assassination.

Wonsley, a self-described “Black Independent Socialist,” represents Ward 2 in Minneapolis. She previously promoted a petition urging the U of M “uninvite” Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett in October 2023.

 

Jenna Gloeb
Website

Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.

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