They’ve long decried the left’s habit of labeling Republicans “fascists.” They have warned, scolded, complained: you can’t throw that accusation around lightly; it cheapens language, they say. But now, leaked private messages among rising GOP leaders obtained by Politico reveal that their extremism is not just rhetorical. It lives, breathes, and laughs behind closed doors.
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Politics has always had its hidden rooms — corridors where whispers echo louder than public statements. Over the past decade, those corridors have multiplied, especially within the modern GOP: from private messaging groups to semi-secret affinity circles like the “A-Gays,” the assembled influence networks of out gay men within Trump’s Republican orbit.
Now, though, one of the most disturbing rooms has been laid bare. An exposé published by Politico on Tuesday reveals thousands of messages exchanged by rising Young Republican operatives, calling opponents monkeys, celebrating gas chambers, and flirting with rape fantasies, all behind the veil of encrypted chat.
Related: Trump’s “A-Gays” are an arrogant, delusional, and obtuse bunch of noxious narcissists
The “RESTOREYR WAR ROOM” chat, spanning more than 2,900 pages, some 28,000+ messages, included state YR leaders from New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont. Among the participants, according to Politico, were William Hendrix, vice chair of the Kansas YRs; Bobby Walker, vice chair of the New York State YRs; and Peter Giunta, then chair of New York’s YRs, who also works as chief of staff to a state assembly member.
In those texts, they did more than scheme electoral strategy. They spoke freely of “putting voters in gas chambers,” gaslighted dissenters, and praised Hitler. Giunta wrote: “Everyone who votes no is going to the gas chamber … Great, I love Hitler.” In response, Joe Maligno, the general counsel for the New York Young Republicans, quipped, “Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic.” New York national committeewoman Annie Kaykaty replied, “I’m ready to watch people burn now.”
The shock of the content is magnified by who was behind it. These are not fringe extremists lost in anonymity; these are young Republicans already embedded in party structures — some holding public roles or career staff positions.
The casual sadism went hand-in-hand with racism and homophobia. In one July exchange, Walker wrote, “Stay in the closet fa**ot,” even though, Politico noted, he was often the main target of that same slur within the group.
Related: Meet Trump’s ‘A-Gays,’ the powerful MAGA gay men on Capitol Hill explained
The group also mocked Asian and Latino people. “My people built the train tracks with the Chinese,” Walker wrote, referring to his Italian heritage.
“Let his people go!” Maligno shot back. “Keep the ch–ks, though.”
In another conversation, Luke Mosiman, chair of the Arizona Young Republicans, wrote, “The Spanish came to America and had sex with every single woman.”
“Sex is gay,” replied Alex Dwyer, the Kansas Young Republicans chair.
“Sex? It was rape,” Mosiman said.
“Epic,” Walker responded.
In part, this leak reflects a generational shift within the conservative movement: As public norms constrict, more of the raw ideology and cruelty move underground. That subterranean shift mirrors other internal fault lines: for instance, in recent months, conservative Washington has become aware of the “A-Gays,” the gay men within Trump’s orbit who quietly coordinate power across agencies and socialize in private Republican spaces, The New York Times reported.
Though the “A-Gays” claim a shared identity — to give mutual support in otherwise hostile Conservative spaces — their existence also highlights the duality of present Republican cohesion: what is public, and what is hidden.
In the Young Republicans’ leaked chat, the hidden became toxic.
The eruption of public reaction has been swift. Politico reports that Hendrix was dismissed from his role in the Kansas Attorney General’s office; Walker lost a job offer; several Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik and New York Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, condemned the messages and demanded resignations. Giunta apologized, but also claimed the logs may have been doctored, accusing internal opponents of orchestrating a political hit.
And yet the logs do more than embarrass individuals. They expose the ideological substrate — the cruelty, the racial animus, the fetishization of dominance — that young leaders are entertaining behind the scenes. They serve as a dark mirror to the notion that Republican youth wings would necessarily be more palatable or moderate than their elders.
At a moment when public discourse is increasingly policed, when racial or anti-Semitic epithets are often decried (at least in public), this leak illustrates how such norms don’t disappear. They move underground, on encrypted apps, in private channels. For LGBTQ+ watchers, the hypocrisy is glaring. These men boast of cruelty toward queer people, call rivals “f—-ts,” and celebrate rape, while likely associating with the same Republican networks that house the “A-Gays.”
This article originally appeared on Advocate: Leaked chats expose Young Republicans peddling racism, fascism, & Hitler worship in bombshell Politico report
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