Turning Point America Club in California in danger after congresswoman’s comments

A Northern California elected official is under scrutiny for comments she made at an after-school meeting at a conservative student club, in which she attributed her daughter’s sexual orientation to childhood trauma and repeatedly criticized workplace diversity and the legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Comments by Lincoln City Councilwoman Holly Andreata of Twelve Bridges High School also drew attention to the emergence of Turning Point America groups in high schools across the country. The conservative nonprofit estimates that its high school program, Clubs America, currently has at least 1,200 chapters. Elected officials in Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas recently announced partnerships with the organization to expand its coverage to more schools in those states.

“Schools have always been — and especially now — absolutely a political battleground for Republican and conservative politics,” said Hava Gordon, a sociology professor at the University of Denver who studies youth activism.

Controversy over the Twelve Bridges chapter of the American Club has roiled the community of Lincoln, a foothill city about 25 miles northeast of Sacramento. Dozens of students and parents spoke at a recent school board meeting, with some accusing the club of promoting hate speech and creating an unwelcoming environment, while others defended its right to exist, The Sacramento Bee , which first reported on the controversy, reported. A group of students said they had collected 300 signatures on a petition calling for the club to be disbanded, the newspaper reported.

The West Placer Unified School District said the law requires respect for students’ rights to form and participate in student-led clubs regardless of their views. “Protecting students’ free speech and student well-being are shared responsibilities,” the district said in a statement. “Even when the issues involved are complex or disturbing, the district remains committed to both goals.”

Andreatta, who is running for Placer County supervisor, declined to be interviewed but said in a three-page statement that she was invited to attend the first meeting of the American Club chapter on Dec. 11. She said that as a former public school educator — she taught eighth-grade U.S. history at a Roseville middle school for 14 years, according to her campaign website — she welcomed the opportunity.

Andreatta said student leaders describe the organization as “a Christian political club designed to provide a space where students can respectfully discuss and debate ideas and explore American freedoms and values.” The packed room included some students specifically for the protest, she said, adding that they were largely respectful.

Andreatta said in a video of the lecture posted online that the theme of her talk was the relationship between Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk and Jesus. After speaking out about the legacy of the political activist who was assassinated on September 10, Andreata used her daughter as an example of what she described as Kirk’s message of loving those with whom he disagreed.

“My oldest daughter went through a lot of trauma as a child,” Andreatta said. “Something really terrible happened to her when she was very young, and I hope that never happens to another child. So, she became a lesbian. She was gay, and she was married to a woman. It’s a little disturbing at times.” [an] I struggled internally because I believed marriage was between a man and a woman. “

After the presentation, Andreatta opened the meeting to a Q&A session and allowed several students to debate.

When a student asked her about the separation of church and state, she responded: “Separation of church and state is a myth. Well. It’s not in the Constitution.”

Andreatta tried to explain Kirk’s criticism of so-called “DEI policies” after a student said Kirk “said some really racially bad things” about black people in the workplace.

“He’s not saying black people can’t be airline pilots,” she said. “…But when you say you have to have 50 percent black pilots and we need to get it done now, then what do you need to do to get a greater percentage? You have to lower the bar.”

When a student asked Andreatta what she and Kirk “thought of Martin Luther King,” Andreatta responded: “There’s a lot of research that shows that Martin Luther King was a Marxist and he supported socialism, and a lot of the civil rights things that he advocated for were not really helpful.”

Andreatta said in a statement that the video circulating online was “heavily edited, taken out of context, giving the false impression that I said something I did not say, and grossly misrepresenting my intentions and my character.” She said the video was recorded and shared by a student who told classmates “he intended to use it to ‘bring me down.'”

(Videos from various vantage points have surfaced, some of which appear to show the entire meeting.)

Regarding her comments about the airline pilot and King, Andreatta said she was paraphrasing Kirk’s arguments rather than relaying her personal views. Referring to King in particular, she said: “If given the opportunity, I would make it clear that I disagree and believe that Dr. King’s legacy has its own moral authority.”

Andreata also said she regretted talking about her daughter. “In my effort to share a vulnerable example of love and acceptance, I shared too much, and it caused her pain,” she said. “I apologized to her privately and I apologized to her publicly.”

Andreatta said student leaders of the Clubs of America chapter were harassed and doxxed after the meeting, while she herself received a direct message containing a death threat and reported it to police.

Fellow Council members distanced themselves from her comments.

Lincoln Mayor Richard Pearl noted that Andreata was attending the meeting in a private capacity and not as a city representative. “Her comments about Club America have caused serious harm to her community and herself, and I object to them,” he said in a statement.

“I want to be clear: I disagree with the sentiments expressed by my fellow alderman,” Deputy Mayor Whitney Eklund echoed.

The Placer County Democratic Party condemned Andreata’s comments, saying in a statement that they were “harmful to the students who listened to her and will cause lasting harm to communities throughout Placer County.”

The myth that trauma affects sexual orientation is a shame. The concept of separation of church and state is not only true, it is a fundamental principle of the nation; the statement said the lie of lowering safety standards in order to hire more people of color undermines the hard work of millions of people.

Ruth Cox, president of the Lincoln Democratic Club, called on Andreata to step down.

“These comments demonstrate a type of misinformation and bias that should disqualify anyone from holding public office,” Cox wrote in a letter to community newspaper publisher King Country Media. “What we are witnessing is a member of the Lincoln City Council promoting white Christian nationalism to high school students.”

In an interview, Cox said a parent filed a formal complaint against the district, alleging it failed to protect children. “The First Amendment gives them a right to own the club,” she said. “But they have no right to abuse the platform in a way that harms the student body.”

Andreata said she has no plans to resign from the City Council or give up her campaign for supervisor.

Gordon, the sociology professor, said that while youth activism is not new in high schools, Club America is unique compared to other sports. She cited its sophisticated infrastructure that enables those looking to start a chapter to order activist tool kits including organizing materials, as well as its well-crafted campaigns that promote capitalist values ​​and denounce the dangers of socialism.

The Clubs of America chapter has received an unusual amount of support from elected officials, who may view participating students as the future of the Republican base, she said. But the chapters have also stoked controversy, which, she said, “represents a larger pushback against Trumpism.”

In Scottsdale, Arizona, a petition calling on the school district to eliminate Saguaro High School’s American Club chapter received more than 2,100 signatures.

In New Lenox, Illinois, school district officials recently approved a chapter at Lincoln-Way West High School after some parents claimed staff were slow to move through the process due to the club’s political nature, Patch reported. Now, a petition seeks to remove the chapter, calling it a “breeding ground for promoting racist, homophobic and misogynistic views.”

In Winfield, Kan., a student-led campaign to eliminate a Winfield High School chapter prompted a letter from a public interest law firm warning the local school district that banning the club based on its views would violate the First Amendment.