On October 17, 2025, the New York GOP Executive Committee took the extraordinary step of unanimously voting to disband the New York State Young Republicans chapter. This decision followed a bombshell Politico investigation that, just days earlier, had revealed thousands of private Telegram messages exchanged over seven months by Young Republican leaders from New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont. The leaked messages, as reported by Politico and confirmed by subsequent investigations from Snopes, were rife with racist, antisemitic, homophobic, and otherwise deeply offensive language—terms like the N-word, R-word, and "f----t" appeared more than 251 times. The group’s conversations also included jokes about sexual assault, suicide, and even support for slavery, painting a disturbing picture of the chapter’s internal culture.
According to Politico, much of the most egregious content came from Peter Giunta, then-chair of the New York Young Republicans and chief of staff to Assemblyman Mike Reilly. Giunta had recently campaigned to lead the Young Republican National Federation, ultimately losing by a narrow six-point margin. In a particularly shocking moment, Giunta texted, "Everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber," as he sought to consolidate power within the organization. His messages included not only antisemitic and homophobic slurs but also personal attacks against other Young Republican leaders—especially those from states supporting his rival, incumbent chair Hayden Padgett.
The fallout was swift and severe. Giunta was removed from his position in Reilly’s office as soon as the messages became public. In a statement to Politico, Giunta offered an apology, saying, "I am so sorry to those offended by the insensitive and inexcusable language found within the more than 28,000 messages of a private group chat that I created during my campaign to lead the Young Republicans." He added, "While I take complete responsibility, I have had no way of verifying their accuracy and am deeply concerned that the message logs in question may have been deceptively doctored."
Other prominent figures were also ensnared in the scandal. Bobby Walker, the former vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans, was found to have used homophobic slurs and referred to rape as "epic" in the group chat. He also repeated a notorious Donald Trump quote about war heroes, writing, "I prefer my war heroes not captured," in reference to the late Senator John McCain. Walker, who had previously worked as communications director for Republican State Sen. Peter Oberacker, saw his offer to become Oberacker’s campaign manager rescinded after the texts came to light.
As the scandal widened, it became clear that the repercussions were being felt far beyond New York. According to Snopes, William Hendrix, vice chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, lost his job in the Kansas Attorney General’s office. Luke Mosiman, chair of the Arizona Young Republicans Federation, was fired from his position at the Center for Arizona Policy. Anne KayKaty, a national committee member of the New York Young Republicans and a school counselor at Xaverian Private Day School in Brooklyn, was also terminated. Joe Maligno, who had served as general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans, was no longer employed by the New York State Unified Court System. And in Vermont, state senator Samuel Douglass, who led the state’s Young Republicans chapter, resigned after being identified in the leaked chats.
One persistent narrative among some conservative commentators and even high-ranking Republican officials was that the offensive exchanges were simply the misguided banter of college students. U.S. Vice President JD Vance dismissed the outrage as "pearl clutching," calling the group chat "just a college group chat." However, Snopes conducted an in-depth analysis of the ages, educational backgrounds, and employment histories of the individuals named in the Politico report. Their findings were unequivocal: the majority of those involved were not college students, but working adults—many of whom had already graduated from college and were holding down professional jobs at the time the messages were sent and leaked.
For instance, William Hendrix graduated from Washburn University in 2022. Bobby Walker is a SUNY Albany graduate, and Peter Giunta holds a degree in public administration from SUNY Empire State College. Anne KayKaty received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the College of Staten Island. Joe Maligno is a Fordham Law School graduate and a former president of the Columbian Lawyers Association. Michael Bartels, who served as an advisory chairman of the New York Young Republican Club, graduated from Providence College and Fordham University School of Law. Alex Dwyer, chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, is an alumnus of the University of Kansas. These are not the resumes of college kids caught up in youthful indiscretion—they are the profiles of adults entrusted with leadership and influence in their communities.
Despite attempts by some to downplay the gravity of the revelations, the New York GOP’s leadership was unequivocal in its condemnation. New York GOP Chair Ed Cox said in a statement following the vote to disband the chapter, "The Young Republicans was already grossly mismanaged, and vile language of the sort made in the group chat has no place in our party or its subsidiary organizations." Broome County Republican Chairman Benji Federman echoed this sentiment, telling WMHT, "What we heard from the Politico story in those chats was despicable. And so that was an easy decision to make. We just need to move on."
Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, took the opportunity to issue a broader critique, suggesting the scandal reflected deeper problems within the Republican Party. When asked if she believed the chat messages were the work of "some bad apples" or indicative of broader toxicity, she replied, "Some bad apples? These are the future of the Republican Party. This was so vile, it is hard to find the words to put into context that these are people who are part of a political party—one of two major political parties—and they believe in gas chambers and rape and discrimination based on the color of people’s skin."
The scandal also exposed financial mismanagement within the New York State Young Republicans, who left behind more than $38,000 in debt, according to campaign finance disclosures. The organization, once a key pipeline for young conservative talent in New York, now faces an uncertain future as the national Young Republican National Federation and state GOP leaders grapple with the fallout.
As more details continue to emerge and investigations proceed, the story serves as a stark reminder of the responsibilities that come with political leadership—and the consequences when those responsibilities are neglected or abused. The New York GOP’s decisive action, along with the professional consequences faced by those involved, signals a clear message: such behavior, no matter who is involved or how private the setting, will not be tolerated in the public square.
