Far-left groups that promote violent rhetoric are targeting students at the University of North Texas, The Dallas Express has learned.
Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, UNT students celebrated the murder and destroyed materials from Kirk’s nonprofit, Turning Point USA.
The Dallas Express visited the UNT campus and discovered materials from radical left-wing groups.
One such group where materials were found is the “Denton Student Union” (DSU), a Marxist group that describes itself as a “militant student/youth org.” Another such group is called the “American Iron Front” (AIF), an Antifa-aligned group that uses “direct action” against so-called “anti-democracy groups.”
Denton Student Union
DSU is the Denton chapter of the Revolutionary Student Union, a national Marxist organization, which aims to “organize student masses” through “mobilizing for revolution.”
The Dallas Express found DSU materials spread across UNT’s campus.
“Dare to struggle, dare to win,” reads one QR code. After scanning the group’s QR code, interested parties are directed to an application page. They can sign up for the “Propaganda Committee” or the “Education & Research Committee.”
“DSU is a revolutionary organization unaffiliated with any university,” the application reads. “Our goal is to organize collective action to fight for the working class in accordance with our Socialist principles.”
“Build a militant student movement,” reads a partial poster that appears to be from DSU.
Soon after Kirk’s assassination, DSU posted to Instagram – labeling Kirk a “beloved white nationalist spokesperson,” and claiming “FASCISM IS HERE” in a September 17 post to Instagram.
The group reportedly took issue with the prosecution of Kirk’s alleged assassin, while the alleged shooter who killed a Denton homeless man was released after questioning. DSU called for a “popular housing movement.”
The group added a comment on September 19 on their original post:
The “U.S.” government is moving full speed ahead in the prosecution of the alleged killer of its beloved white nationalist spokesman, and Jon Ruff’s killer is still free and unidentified on the streets of Denton more than a month after the murder. The Denton Police Department (DPD) continues its silent, fruitless and lazy “investigation.” Meanwhile, he longs to join the current wave of repression in response to the September 10 shooting, which is being developed in full collaboration with universities and capitalist media: a massive loyalty test to see who boos and who claps in the stadiums, in the news rooms and social media.
The capitalist media is silent on the killing of Jon Ruff for the same reason they choose to fire those who criticize Charlie Kirk, while holding figures like national news anchor Brian Kilmeade, who openly called for the deaths of homeless people. It’s a simple truth: the ruling class is eager to liquidate homeless people by any means necessary. Capitalists are horrified and collectively pounce against one of their own, killed in broad daylight in front of crowds, like Jon, but in his case they didn’t even bother to publicly report his name.
We, the workers, students, and homeless of Denton, are the only ones who can demand and bring justice for Jon. Only we, in his memory, can build the popular movement for housing that we have all needed for decades. Witch hunts, deportations, arrests and other forms of repression are proving to be fast and organized. We need to be quicker and more organized than those who want to use Kirk’s death as an excuse to repress dissent. These are times of growing struggle, these are weeks where decades happen. If we are caught careless, negligent and unprepared, we will be swept away and fascism will have no more barriers to overcome. What’s at stake has never been this big.
DEMAND JUSTICE FOR JON! 🚩
FIGHT THE FASCIST OFFENSE! 🚩
DSU’s chief media correspondent, who went only by “Hugh,” told The Dallas Express the group engages in “community aid, support, and solidarity.”
“We do not engage in armed struggle,” Hugh said. “We condemn the false narrative that portrays revolutionary activists and oppressed groups (especially queer and ‘trans’ people) as violent terrorists.”
DSU’s main focus is addressing the killing of the homeless man and “supporting our community,” according to Hugh.
Revolutionary Student Union
RSU launched in September of 2023 and emphasizes “the necessity of revolution to overcome capitalism.”
“The youth must organize for working class revolution and be active participants in the revolutionary movement for us to unchain ourselves and smash this parasitic system,” the group’s website reads. “RSU chapters partake in protests, marches, strike support for workers, and other forms of direct action.”
“Direct action” involves mobilizing on the street. Groups like Antifa – a group of leftist militants that deem their opponents “fascists” – often use the strategy to intimidate opponents with violence.
American Iron Front
The American Iron Front alludes to the historical Iron Front, a “paramilitary” organization in 1930s Germany that fought the Nazis. AIF’s logo features three downward arrows, a common symbol associated with Antifa.
The Dallas Express found multiple posters from the group across UNT, featuring pictures of John Brown, the militant abolitionist who raided an Army facility in 1859.
AIF claims it opposes “tyranny in all its forms,” and opposes “fascism” as the most dire threat to freedom.
“Authoritarian communism, though antidemocratic, is simply not an existential threat to the well being of our country,” AIF’s website reads. “We therefore believe that one may stand in solidarity with global liberation movements without falling prey to the follies of geopolitical rhetoric.”
It denounces “oligarchy and prejudice,” and targets “unconstrained capitalist monopolies” as a threat to freedom.
AIF’s website features a guide on “far-right extremist iconography,” including the Jerusalem Cross – a widespread Christian symbol – and the MAGA lion insignia.
The group’s website includes propaganda claiming Republicans, Elon Musk, and the Department of Homeland Security are pushing “fascism.” One poster shows three arrows breaking three targets – the Confederate flag, the Nazi swastika, and “MAGA.”
AIF uses “direct action” against what it calls “authoritarian and anti-democracy groups,” according to its website. It offers resources on how to resist law enforcement.
One packet, titled “Whatever You Do, Don’t Talk To The Police,” instructs others on how to handle an arrest at demonstrations. It emphasized the “Principles of Solidarity” to fight “repression.”
“We do not talk to the police about our comrades,” the guide reads. “We will not post incriminating information about our comrades.”
Another packet – “Exposing Fascists: Best Practices,” from Colorado Springs Antifa – informs them how to dox their opponents, suggesting they do so anonymously.
“Outing Nazis is a tactic that can be used to leverage certain material results,” the guide reads. “Like fascists, the police are our enemies, and will protect fascists more often than they hinder their activities.”
Soon after President Donald Trump’s administration discussed labeling Antifa a terrorist organization, AIF’s Reddit moderators announced they would restrict discussions for the “safety of our users.”
“This is out of an overabundance of caution due to increased scrutiny in light of the Kirk assassination,” one moderator “WolfeMooney43” wrote. “The government is trying to use this as an excuse to label all Trump opponents as terrorists.”
Moderators said, “We Will Open Posting+Commenting Back Up Soon, We Are Waiting for Things to Cool Down a Bit Post-CK Assassination.”
Still, the group’s thread featured posts that applauded violence and mocked Kirk.
One user posted a picture of Kirk with Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot and killed two men during the 2020 riots out of self-defense. “Send this picture to your MAGA family members with no words.”
Another posted a rendition of “Bella Ciao” – the Antifa fight song engraved on a shell casing Kirk’s alleged assassin reportedly left behind.
Still another commenter appeared panicked that Vice President J.D. Vance honored Kirk by carrying his casket to Air Force 2. “They are giving him a hero’s treatment. They’re turning him into a martyr,” the user wrote. “Any idea on how we can fight this?”
A Violent Trend
After Kirk’s assassination, UNT students reportedly laughed in a classroom while the video of Kirk being shot was shown on a student’s cellphone, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
One of their peers expressed concerns to the administration but didn’t hear back, so Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote to the school, demanding that officials expand their investigation.
Nearly a week later, another UNT student ripped up TPUSA materials and scattered them on the ground, as The Dallas Express also reported.
UNT President Harrison Keller said the school was conducting a “thorough review of recent actions of a few of our community members.”
In August, The Dallas Express found more communist propaganda on UNT’s campus, glorifying Luigi Mangione – the alleged assassin of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Prior to these findings, the Dallas chapter of the Revolutionary Communists of America had visited UNT and recruited dozens of students.
Kirk’s assassination follows a long pattern of violent left-wing rhetoric and actions, which created what Kirk himself described just months before as an “assassination culture.”