{"id":139422,"date":"2023-12-21T12:18:32","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T17:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=139422"},"modified":"2023-12-21T12:18:32","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T17:18:32","slug":"butler-college-republicans-under-investigation-for-condemning-pro-palestinian-chant-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/butler-college-republicans-under-investigation-for-condemning-pro-palestinian-chant-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Butler College Republicans under investigation for condemning pro-Palestinian chant: report"},"content":{"rendered":"

GOP leader says \u2018hate speech\u2019 probe is \u2018political witch hunt\u2019<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Butler University is investigating its College Republicans chapter for alleged \u201chate speech\u201d after the conservative students said pro-Palestinian protesters were supporting “terrorists” in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack, a new report found.<\/p>\n

The private Indiana university told the Butler College Republicans that their chapter could receive a warning or be disbanded as a result of the complaint, The Daily Signal<\/em> reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chris Elmore, chairman of the Indiana Federation of College Republicans, said last week that the investigation is a \u201cpolitical witch hunt,\u201d and the university should apologize.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen bureaucratic university demagogues can erase the civil rights of those they disagree with, one wonders how these lessons will be reflected in the next generation of leaders,\u201d Elmore said in a statement<\/a> published Dec. 14 on Facebook.<\/p>\n

Allegedly, the Butler College Republicans made \u201cegregious false allegations\u201d when the group accused the Butler Students for Justice in Palestine of celebrating \u201cterrorism, terrorist attacks, and chant[ing] pro-Hamas slogans,\u201d the university Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion stated in an Oct. 30 letter, obtained by The Daily Signal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In an Oct. 13 Instagram post, the conservative student group also allegedly falsely accused SJP of supporting \u201ckidnapping, rape, murder and beheading of Israeli citizens\u201d by Hamas terrorists, according to the letter.<\/p>\n

The College Republicans\u2019 post responded to an Oct. 12 protest by the Butler SJP where some students chanted, \u201cNot a victim, not a crime! They said the chant was an \u201cattempt to justify the cold-blooded attacks by an internationally designated terrorist organization on innocent civilians,\u201d according to The Daily Signal.<\/em><\/p>\n

The report continues:<\/p>\n

According to copies of official emails and letters obtained by The Daily Signal<\/em>, members of Students for Justice in Palestine filed a complaint Oct. 15 with Azure Swinford, Butler\u2019s associate director for institutional equity and Title IX coordinator, asserting that the College Republicans\u2019 condemnation incited violence against \u201cMuslim and Palestinian\u201d students.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

University spokesman Mark Apple told The Daily Signal<\/em> that they do not comment publicly on bias investigations, and the university publicly condemned the Hamas terrorist attack after it occurred.<\/p>\n

Apple said the university will not tolerate \u201cantisemitism, Islamophobia, hate speech, threats, and acts of violence,\u201d and \u201censuring the safety of our students remains our top priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Elmore with the Indiana Federation of College Republicans said the Butler students did not say anything wrong, and the university violated their right to free speech when it told them to remove the Instagram post.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur organization stands with the plight of the Jewish people, the sentiments expressed in the Butler University College Republican statement, and the civil rights of all college students, regardless of where they are placed on the political spectrum,” Elmore said.<\/p>\n

MORE: Rabbi: Harvard tells Jews to \u2018hide\u2019 menorah nights during Hanukkah<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

IMAGE: Butler Students for Justice in Palestine\/Instagram<\/p>\n

\n