NYU scraps College Republicans event after speaker calls for 'armed security'

Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News on Apr 10, 2025

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NEW YORK — New York University administrators called off a Thursday event reportedly organized by a chapter of College Republicans at the eleventh hour after they said the featured speaker Elijah Schaffer made a public plea for “armed security” and shared “violent” promotional material.

The panel was scheduled to be held in a 128-seat campus space and feature Schaffer, a conservative internet personality, and two other presenters on immigration and crime, according to a flyer on social media. The poster included a caricature of two men of color holding a knife above three white people with angel wings and a halo with the words: “Why do illegals keep graping (sic) and unaliving us?” it read.

“The University has notified the student organization that was planning an event on immigration for the evening of April 10 that it cannot proceed because one of its invited speakers used violent imagery and publicly called for armed individuals to be present at the event,” NYU spokesman John Beckman said in a statement the day before the panel.

NYU also notified the police, Beckman continued, and launched an investigation into complaints of discrimination and harassment. The statement made no mention of race.

The event and its cancellation were first reported by student newspaper the Washington Square News.

President Trump and his allies have targeted higher education over what they see as a left-wing bias, going after some federal funding and threatening to pull support from others. Some college administrations have tried to reverse course by hiring prominent conservative leaders or otherwise trying to diversify political ideology on campus.

But the planned event, NYU said, crossed a line.

“Our commitment to academic freedom does not include allowing our community members to be put in harm’s way,” Beckman said.

Schaffer — the chief executive officer of a website called RiftTV, which describes itself as an alternative to “mainstream conservative media” that it claims has become too moderate — took to social media on Wednesday afternoon to ask his 815,000 followers for armed security.

“I need armed security tomorrow in New York in the evening,” he wrote on X, posting a screenshot of progressive student groups condemning the panel. “If you have connections or are able to carry a firearm and can provide security, please DM me a lead / rates.”

After the event was canceled, Schaffer in a separate post said he was hiring licensed security after receiving threats, and accused NYU of intentionally convoluting his initial post. He threatened legal action.

“We were never calling for violence, implied violence or called for people to be armed at the event,” he added.

Washington Square News reported that NYU College Republicans deleted social media posts that promoted the event on Wednesday evening. The college chapter did not return a request for comment. The president of NYU College Democrats, Saha Guerrero, in a statement on social media accused their GOP counterparts of being an “extremist group on campus.”

An online petition demanding NYU cancel the event reached more than 4,500 signatures and 40 organization sign-ons before it was called off. College Democrats had planned to rally before the event with Keith Powers, a candidate for Manhattan borough president who is currently an East Side councilman.

“In the Trump 2.0 era, bigotry and racism have reached new heights at the hands of those emboldened by his vile rhetoric,” Powers said in a statement. “I’m proud to stand with the NYU Democrats in their fight against this hatred as they work to create a safe learning environment for all students on campus.”

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