The debate group Fearless Debate was removed from Tennessee State University after attempting to host an unauthorized free speech event honoring the late Turning Point USA co-founder, Charlie Kirk.

A handful of members arrived in MAGA hats and set up a folding table with handwritten signs such as “DEI should be illegal” and “Deport all illegals now! Let’s talk,” according to The College Fix.

Fearless Debate set up a table and microphone and displayed their signs without first obtaining permission from the university, according to News Channel 5 Nashville.

Their appearance drew immediate pushback as students surrounded the table, waving Black Lives Matter signs and drowning out the group’s chants.

Campus police intervened within minutes and escorted the group off university grounds.

The university’s NAACP chapter called the stunt “inflammatory” and “provocation disguised as debate.”

“While we recognize and respect that free speech is a constitutional right, there is a clear and urgent distinction between constructive dialogue and rhetoric deliberately designed to provoke, demean, and endanger the psychological safety of students at HBCUs,” the statement read.

“We are frustrated. We are infuriated. And we are reminded that in 2025, rhetoric and politics that threaten Black lives and futures are still very real,” the NAACP posted in a message on X. “HBCUs are sacred spaces, and we will not be intimidated.”

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TSU administration echoed those concerns, calling the group’s actions “deliberately provocative” and an attempt to create visibility “at the expense of Tennessee State University students,” per News Channel 5.

Fearless Debate defended itself briefly online, insisting it wanted to “talk to people who disagree,” but offered no explanation for bypassing university rules.

“If you want to talk to people who disagree with you, you go to the place where people disagree with you,” said Cam Higby, a member of the debate group, per WKRN.

earless Debate later repeated the same message on X, offering no additional explanation.

 

The incident drew responses from commenters who viewed the removal as further proof of the decline of civil discourse.

“You guys are completely missing the chief takeaway from Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The point isn’t that we should follow in Charlie’s footsteps. The point is that the age of discussion and debate is over. The Left killed it,” Joel Webbon, a podcaster from Right Response Ministries, wrote on X.

And yet, Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, and the new Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of Turning Point USA, would disagree, as Kirk’s mission did not die with her husband, nor can the left kill it.

“Charlie, I promise I will never let your legacy die. I will make Turning Point USA the biggest thing this nation has ever seen,” Erika said on September 12 in an address to the nation. “They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith, and of God’s merciful love,” she declared. “You have no idea what you have unleashed across this entire country. You have no idea the fire you have ignited within this wife.”

“We will continue debates in dialogue,” Erika said at Kirk’s memorial on September 21. She noted that a revival is happening, and through faith and civic renewal, Kirk’s legacy will continue.

The Dallas Express reached out to the TSU NAACP chapter for comment, but did not receive a response by publication deadline.