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A group of students who founded a chapter of a pro-life organization at the University of Southern Maine (USM) say they were targeted with a social media threat that invoked the name of assassinated conservative leader Charlie Kirk.
“[T]hese Charlie Kirk enthusiasts gotta be careful don’t they know what happened to the guy,” the post, which did not include punctuation, said.
The threat was posted on Yik Yak, an anonymous chat application mostly used by college students.
Recently, several USM students founded a chapter of Students for Life, a pro-life club with chapters on college campuses nationwide. The campus group is called Huskies4Life, and its leaders told Fox News Digital that the hatred began before the chapter was even officially founded.
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Matthew Gozzi is the northeast campus formation coordinator for Students for Life. He said the USM group is emboldened by the social media hatred, most of which is anonymous, and by two protests against the new chapter on campus.
“We knew that now more than ever, you have to speak out, and you have to be authentic about who you are and your values, and that we weren’t going to back down if any of this stuff happened,” he told Fox News Digital.
He said that when the club petitioned the student senate to be officially recognized, the protests began. Opponents began taking photos of the chapter members during tabling events, and reported them to the school to try to have them removed, according to Gozzi. Two protests against them broke out.
“I think that they believe that there is no opposition to their ideas and that they don’t realize how regular conservative values are,” Gozzi said. “I also think that they’ve been told through media, through politicians, through everything, that anything that disagrees with their views constitutes violence and naturally, you know, you should fight violence with violence.”
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USM junior Jadyn Carrigan captured the screenshot of the Yik Yak post referencing Kirk.
“I think that, you know, every person has the right to exercise their, their free speech, and that’s exactly what myself and my club members are here to do,” she told Fox News Digital. “We’re not here with any malicious intent. We’re not here really even to argue. We’re here to have respectful dialogue, and that’s the whole beauty of democracy is hearing both sides of the spectrum, whatever that is.”
“I think myself, as well as my other club members, are doing the best we can to not fight hate with hate, but show everyone the respect that they deserve, regardless of their opinion,” she said.
Abby Patenaude is also a member of Huskies4Life.
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She sent Fox News Digital screenshots of a trove of social media posts targeting the group.
“[W]ishing rabies upon your families,” a comment on the group’s Instagram says.
“Pro life isn’t pro woman,” said another comment, which added two emojis.
Similar comments riddled another Instagram post.
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“How is this a real club? Embarrassing! Petition to get rid of this stupid club,” said a comment.
[P]ro choice is the only choice babe!! [J]ust say you hate women and move on,” said another.
“I think it’s really telling, like, the difference between us and them,” Patenaude told Fox News Digital. “And, like, I hate to use that division, but, they hate me for thinking differently, and we continue to respect and love them regardless.“
“We’re encouraging respectful dialogue, and we’re here to save babies, we’re here to support moms, and we’re here to create a culture of life on and off the campus, and hopefully all around Southern Maine and this is just how we have to do that,” she said.
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USM confirmed to Fox News Digital that it is aware of the posts.
“USM is aware that the student group and its faculty advisor have recently been the subject of threatening social media posts, most of them on an anonymous app,” she said. “That app is not owned or controlled by the University.”
“USM’s Department of Public Safety and Office of Student Engagement and Belonging are engaging with the student club to offer support and resources, and the student members have also reported these posts via the app,” the statement continued.
Gozzi noted that he was pleased with how the school has handled the situation.
The statement continues, explaining that if any students behind the threatening or harassing posts are identified, they will be subject to the University of Maine System’s Student Code of Conduct review process, and that campus police also engage when threatening or harassing posts are made.
“USM encourages free inquiry and welcomes respectful discussions among those with differing viewpoints,” the school said, noting that its free speech policy aligns with the First Amendment.
“There shall be no restriction at any System institutions on these fundamental rights, although the University may prohibit speech that violates the law, defames specific individuals, genuinely threatens or harasses others, or violates privacy or confidentiality requirements or interests,” the school policy says.
Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, reprimanded the anonymous poster for invoking Kirk’s name.
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“As someone who is still mourning the assassination of my friend, Charlie Kirk, I’m horrified that Students for Life students in Maine had to deal with that kind of social media bullying,” Hawkins said. “But the courageous response of our student leaders and their willingness to stand up for mothers and their children — born and preborn — shows why we are winning.”
“Abortion is the human rights atrocity facing the Pro-Life Generation, and we are not going to stay silent, though we will take all the precautions needed to protect those committed to loving them both.”
