Turning Point USA draws 3,000 attendees for IU Bloomington campus event

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Turning Point USA, the organization founded by conservative activist Charlie Kirk, continued its college campus tour with a stop in Bloomington on Tuesday.

IU is among several universities with Turning Point chapters that have been growing since Kirk was assassinated in September, though not all of the roughly 3,000 people who showed up believe that’s a good thing.

“I have no affiliation with either side,” said IU student Owen Slota. “I’m just here to learn.”

“Indiana’s a pretty red state,” said an IU graduate who attended the event and identified himself as Carson. “I know people who drove an hour to get here.”

Lines of merch-clad supporters snaked around the building, waiting to pass through metal detectors and take their seats.

“I’m glad this is indoors, I will say that,” Carson said. “Anything can happen.”

It was not lost on those FOX59/CBS4 spoke to that Kirk was killed during a similar Turning Point event on Utah Valley University’s campus last month — one that was outside. This crowd had previously expected to hear from Kirk in Bloomington, but still came out after conservative commentator Tucker Carlson stepped in to headline.

“A lot of us, including me, are more divisive or hot-headed than we need to be,” Carlson said to the crowd. “Charlie had a lot of emotional self-control.”

“I still wanted to come and see what (Carlson) has to say about what’s going on recently over in Gaza, the Middle East,” said IU student Jude Demilt.

It was a big topic of interest on both sides.

“I wanted to speak to the Turning Point audience,” said a person who showed up to protest and identified himself as Karl. “I figured they would be receptive to my messaging.”

Signs about violence in the Gaza Strip sat prominently outside the auditorium, without very many to hold them.

“I wish there were more,” Karl said. “I wish there were more people out here protesting with me.”

Erin Halsey held her own protest sign that read “TPUSA is a hate group,” hoping to change minds about Turning Point’s messaging around race, women’s rights and LGBTQ+ issues.

“I think if more people knew what they were really saying about a wide variety of groups, they might not support them,” Halsey said.

Yet, Turning Point’s IU chapter president said they’re growing by the day. A sea of fans spent two hours asking Carlson questions and clung to the words of Governor Mike Braun, who called the political climate of today a “battle” of values.

“It’s up to you to be the foot soldiers — that we take what he meant and grow it into the place where this is more common in universities than the other stuff you often see in universities,” Braun told the crowd.

In a brief statement regarding safety, an FBI spokesperson said they worked closely with law enforcement partners in advance of the event.

The FBI is aware of the event and continues to work closely with our local, state, and federal partners to help ensure the safety of everyone in Bloomington. Protecting the public remains our highest priority. We encourage anyone who sees something suspicious to report it to local law enforcement or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

FBI Indianapolis Division spokesperson