Wednesday night in Waco, Texas, 438 Baylor University students passed through the checkpoint outside Waco Hall to attend the Turning Point USA “This Is the Turning Point” tour event.
Black pipe and drape was set up in the back portion of the main floor to make the 2,220-seat theater look smaller. The balcony remained empty, according to photos sent to reporters from those inside the room.
What was said inside the auditorium cannot be reported by BNG because TPUSA announced hours before the event that no media, no community members, no faculty and no staff would be permitted inside. TPUSA blamed the students-only policy on Baylor administration, but the administration denied those accusations.
The small crowd follows the pattern at other stops on the six-campus tour, where rooms have been half filled or less. The Waco event no doubt would have drawn a larger crowd if community members had been allowed inside.
BNG acquired this photo taken inside Waco Hall durihng the TPUSA event April 22
TPUSA and Baylor’s administration exchanged a flurry of words Wednesday afternoon, each accusing the other of being difficult to work with. Outside Waco Hall, on a balmy spring evening, personnel enlisted to guide participants through a lengthy security checkpoint stood mainly idle, having quickly dispatched the small number of students who strolled in before the event began.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Trump Border Czar Tom Homan and conservative podcast Benny Johnson were reported to have spoken at the event. Donald Trump Jr. had been scheduled to speak but backed out the day before.
Meanwhile, at the University of Georgia, where a similar tour stop drew a smaller-than-anticipated crowd last week, Erika Kirk has been accused of faking reports of security threats against her. She is the widow of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk and now leads the partisan advocacy group. She backed out of speaking at the UGA event, citing security concerns, yet U.S. Vice President JD Vance felt secure enough to speak.
In an unusual statement, the U.S. Secret Service said there was no credible threat against Kirk that night.
One of Kirk’s chief critics, conservative commentator Candace Owens, posted a tirade against Kirk on social media: “The public should continue to be outraged over this recent lie from Turning Point USA. To recap, Erika Kirk flew into Athens, Ga., from Palm Beach on Tuesday after a weekend bridal shower at Mar-a-Lago. She flew in aboard a massive, apartment-sized jet owned by Vegas billionaires. She landed into a terminal which had been secured, since Monday, by our nation’s Secret Service. There was both a military and police presence waiting at that terminal to escort the VP who was due to land about an hour and 30 minutes after her. After learning of the crowd size, Erika decided she no longer wanted to do the event. Rather than simply cancelling, she instructed her PR team to make up a demented lie about imminent threats against her travel safety. Again, she was ALREADY IN GEORGIA sitting upon a federally cleared pathway. Her PR agent and the vice president then shamelessly lectured the audience about these invisible threats, suggesting they were the public’s fault for having criticized her.”
No reason was given for Donald Trump Jr.’s cancellation at the Baylor tour stop.