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Who are William Hendrix and Peter Giunta? Young Republicans leaders named in racist chat leak
While William Hendrix used racist slurs in the chats, Peter Giunta joked about gas chambers.
A 2,900-page Telegram chat log of Young Republicans leaders joking about slavery, gas chambers, and rape has shocked the nation. The Politico published a report highlighting several young GOP leaders from different chapters of the organisation, including William Hendrix and Peter Giunta.
Who is William Hendrix?
William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair, reportedly used words “n--ga” and “n--guh,” and also several variations of the racist slurs in the chats. The GOP leader has not yet addressed the scandal.
Also Read: Young Republicans leaders joke about slavery, rape in private messages: Politico’s explosive chat leak
Who is Peter Giunta?
Peter Giunta, chief of staff to New York state Assemblymember Mike Reilly, who was also the chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time of the chats, joked about gas chambers.
He opened up about the scandal, calling it a “coordinated year-long character assassination.” In a statement, he said, “These logs were sourced by way of extortion and provided to POLITICO by the very same people conspiring against me. What’s most disheartening is that, despite my unwavering support of President Trump since 2016, rouge [sic] members of his administration — including Gavin Wax — have participated in this conspiracy to ruin me publicly simply because I challenged them privately.”
Though he apologised, he added that he cannot comment on the authenticity or accuracy of the texts, the outlet reported. “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 said.
“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.”
Social media reacts:
An individual wrote, “The Young Republicans knew this was going on and let it happen until it leaked.” Another posted, “Young Republicans don't mean kids. These grown men are probably in their mid-20s.” A third remarked, “This is so vile.”
Following the chat leak, the board of directors of Young Republicans issued a statement saying they were appalled by the “vile and inexcusable language” in the texts and added, “Those involved must immediately resign."
