Enrollment at the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, remains flat due to students’ fears of retaliation, according to chapter leaders and local supporters. The stagnation comes nearly a year after the campus group’s registration sparked intense pushback from the surrounding community and student body.
“It’s definitely been flat, I would say,” Rachel Cook, vice president of the Fort Lewis College chapter, told Fox News Digital.
Cook’s comments come nearly a year after the student government’s decision to recognize the chapter touched off severe turmoil on campus — much of which was captured on video and obtained by Fox News Digital.
One video showed a student being detained by campus police after striking 66-year-old local resident David Peters with a Taco Bell cup outside the student senate chambers.
Peters, former chair of the La Plata County GOP and a retired Chevron executive, reflected on the incident and its lingering effect on the student group.
“Their membership has been essentially flat. The issue is that a lot of students are reluctant to join the chapter for fear of retaliation,” Peters said. “And their fears are well-founded. There have been some members who have received anonymous death threats.”
Cook echoed those safety concerns.
“One of the main things is that students have said they are hesitant to join because of their personal safety. A lot of our officers have been getting threats and being harassed,” she said.
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The tensions at Fort Lewis College unfolded amid a national surge in interest for TPUSA campus chapters. Following the September 10, 2025, assassination of TPUSA co-founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, the conservative organization reported receiving more than 120,000 inquiries from students seeking to establish local chapters.
At Fort Lewis College, then-senior Jonah Flynn led the effort to establish a presence on campus. Although the Associated Students of Fort Lewis College (ASFLC) initially rejected Flynn’s proposal, the student government ultimately reversed course and voted to approve the group during an emergency session.
The vote prompted immediate outrage from anti-TPUSA spectators waiting outside the meeting room.
According to a Fort Lewis College campus police report, approximately 70 people attended the high-tension meeting. As attendees spilled out into the lobby, an argument broke out between attendees holding opposing views.
The police report states that Peters approached a student who was “booing and yelling” while holding his phone about a foot away to record. The student — identified in police records as Megan Elizabeth Hope Mollett (who goes by Nova and uses they/them pronouns) — struck Peters’ phone and hand with an empty Taco Bell cup.
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Officers intervened immediately, separating the pair and detaining Mollett. While the incident was documented as harassment, police released Mollett with a warning after Peters declined to press criminal charges, though he requested that the university take internal disciplinary action.
Reflecting on the fallout nearly a year later, Peters noted that the climate on campus remains hostile.
During the same post-vote protest, David Kozak, a former anthropology professor at the college, was captured on video flipping off the camera and shouting at TPUSA supporters.
“Go on, fascists,” Kozak shouted. “Go on, Nazi lovers… C’mon, Nazis!”
A spokesperson for Fort Lewis College confirmed to Fox News Digital that Kozak has since retired from the university.
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The ongoing hostility comes as political violence remains a growing concern across the country following Kirk’s assassination. Authorities cited political motivation in the shooting, pointing to evidence including ammunition allegedly engraved with political slogans, highlighting concerns over how inflammatory rhetoric is translating into real-world violence.
Fort Lewis College did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment regarding Cook’s and Peters’ claims.
