Officers at Rutgers University's Turning Point USA chapter are pushing back against a petition from a technology developer calling for the conservative group to be disbanded, describing the effort as "blatantly defamatory."
"The petition to disband our Turning Point chapter is blatantly defamatory," Ava Kwan, outreach coordinator for the Turning Point USA chapter at Rutgers, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
"The accusations of 'inciting violence' and 'making threats' are complete lies," Kwan said. "The same people claiming we're suppressing their free speech are actively trying to silence us for speaking the truth. It's not just ironic, it's hypocritical and absurd."
PETITION LAUNCHES FOR RUTGERS TO DISBAND SCHOOL'S TPUSA CHAPTER
Earlier this week, a technology developer launched a Change.org petition to remove the Rutgers TPUSA chapter, accusing the group of promoting "hate speech" and creating a "toxic environment."
"Having lived in New Jersey my entire life, I've always cherished the inclusive educational environment we have cultivated here," the petition on Change.org reads, which appeared to have been organized by Alexander Di Filippo, who is listed as the petition starter.
Di Filippo, who does not have any mention of Rutgers University on his LinkedIn page, is a former student from Rochester Institute of Technology, who majored in game design and development, and minored in music and technology and creative writing.
"The Rutgers chapter of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) has been continuously promoting hate speech and inciting violence against our community," the petition added. "This disturbing behavior has created a toxic environment that has already led to tragic consequences. Alarmingly, a respected professor felt compelled to leave the country, fearing for the safety of their family due to threats and harassment cultivated by this group."
Kwan told Fox News Digital that, "Any opinion that challenges their worldview is immediately branded as 'hate speech,' a meaningless term weaponized to control dissent and protect their false narrative. The petition, Bray's retreat abroad, and my own doxxing by unhinged Rutgers leftists all tell the same story: they know they're losing."
Last week, the Turning Point USA chapter at Rutgers launched a petition to remove Mark Bray, a Rutgers University professor, citing concerns over his past statements supporting Antifa.
Bray, who is the author of "Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook," "The Anarchist Inquisition: Assassins, Activists, and Martyrs in Spain and France," and "Translating Anarchy: The Anarchism of Occupy Wall Street," said that he would be moving his family to Europe due to safety concerns.
'DR ANTIFA' RUTGERS PROFESSOR ANNOUNCES MOVE TO EUROPE AFTER TPUSA PETITION CALLS FOR HIS FIRING
In "Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook," Bray noted that "at the very least 50 percent of author proceeds will go to the International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund which is administered by more than three hundred antifa from eighteen countries."
In a Sept. 12 post on Bluesky, the social media platform popular with progressives, Bray promoted a Sept. 13 event he was presenting at in New York City entitled, "Another War Is Possible: Experiences in the fight against deportation, fascism, & capitalist globalization."
In an Oct. 4 post on Bluesky, Bray wrote, "It's true that sometimes the law holds back Trump and affords us some semblance of safety. But the more we lean into the law as our shield, the more powerful it will become as a sword when Trump changes it in his favor and wields it against us. Only mass antifascism, legal or not, can save us."
In his book, "Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook," Bray wrote, "Undoubtedly street blockades and other forms of confrontational opposition can be very useful against any political opponent, but once far-right formations have managed to broadcast their xenophobic, dystopian platforms, it is incumbent upon us to drown them out with even better alternatives to the austerity and incompetence of the governing parties of the Right and Left. On its own, militant anti-fascism is necessary but not sufficient to build a new world in the shell of the old."
Megyn Doyle, a student at Rutgers and the treasurer for the Turning Point USA chapter who started the Change.org petition to remove Bray, told Fox News Digital in a statement that Di Filippo's petition is slanderous.
"The petition once again proves that Conservative students are always on the receiving end of hate when speaking about concerning issues," Doyle said.
"The petition is defamatory in every possible way. We do not condone death threats, hate speech, or harassment towards anyone who opposes us," she added. "To suggest that we are responsible for making such threats against this professor is completely untrue. Our petition aims to educate students, alumni, donors, and even non-students about Mark Bray, an antifa-aligned professor and supporter. Many who have signed my petition believe that Mark Bray shouldn't be employed at Rutgers University due to these ties, and his endorsement of pro-political violence in his book, 'Antifa: The Anti-fascist Handbook.'"
Doyle also said that the petition to remove their TPUSA chapter "does not reflect genuine concern for free speech. Instead, it seeks to suppress the voices of conservative students and restrict their right to express their views freely."
Fox News Digital reached out to Rutgers for comment, as well as Di Filippo via Change.org.
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