A Turning Point USA student leader at the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus was allegedly assaulted last week shortly after antifa groups put out a hit on the 19-year-old conservative activist.
Engineering student Nathaniel Ellis, the secretary of CU Boulder’s TPUSA chapter, was allegedly beaten over the head by a masked assailant with a hockey stick, three days following the circulation of an antifa-branded flyer targeting him.
The flyer, which was widely shared by left-wing student organizations at CU Boulder, said to be on the lookout for a “Nazi Activist On Campus.” Pictures of Ellis were included in the digital graphic, accusing him of being a neo-Nazi with active membership across various white supremacist groups, such as Patriot Front. The social media campaign also categorized Ellis’s involvement in TPUSA as “Fascist Extracurricular Activities.”
“Send us info about Patriot Front or Nathan Ellis, including where he lives or works,” the alert said. Another version of the “Nazi” notice listed his home address in Durango.
The wanted-style posters were created by Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists in collaboration with Front Range Anti-Fascists, a Colorado cell belonging to the Torch Network, an organizing body overseeing the accreditation of antifa chapters all over America. Authorities consider the Torch Network the “most radical” of antifa cohorts operating in the United States.
HOW THE ANTIFA MOVEMENT HAS METASTASIZED
According to investigative journalist Andy Ngo, the antifa cells intentionally placed their insignia on the call to political violence.
“Wow,” reacted Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, head of the DOJ’s civil rights division, which prosecutes hate crimes.
Boulder Students for a Democratic Society, a student-led communist collective in Colorado, instructed followers to “widely” circulate the flyer, which was shared over 600 times. Durango Anarchists later celebrated the attack on Ellis in a post tagging Boulder SDS, writing “[F*** around and find out], mawf***a!” Three hockey stick emojis accompanied the celebratory “update.”
Police are searching for the suspect, who was seen wearing a black ski mask and all-black clothing, known as black bloc, the uniform of antifa.
At approximately 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, the Boulder Police Department responded to a report of an assault near CU Boulder’s campus. A man on roller blades allegedly approached the victim from behind and struck him with a hockey stick. The suspect fled when the victim called 911, and police were unable to find him after searching the area.
BPD did not name Ellis, pursuant to victim privacy practices. However, he identified himself as the victim of the attack to the CU Independent, the college’s student newspaper, and the Boulder-based Daily Camera.
“He came up behind me and broke a hockey stick over my head and yelled something to the effect of ‘f— you, fascist,’” Ellis said of the suspect in a statement to the Daily Camera’s crime and public safety section.
Per a BPD press release, the suspect is believed to have stalked the victim before the attack, following him from campus to an intersection down the road.
Ellis said the individual on in-line skates followed him for about 10 minutes after he left the Ekeley Sciences Building, where a TPUSA meeting was held earlier that evening.
VIOLENCE AGAINST CAMPUS CONSERVATIVES HAS REACHED NEW HEIGHTS
Investigators verified that “they are aware that the victim was the subject of some social media posts and a digital flyer circulated by others prior to last night’s incident.”
“Whether these played a role in the reported assault is part of the investigation, and police are not commenting further on this finding,” BPD said.
Boulder police released additional daytime photographs of the person of interest, as local law enforcement continues to investigate the incident.
The alleged attack comes more than a month after Charlie Kirk, the founder of TPUSA, was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University, one state over. Antifascist sayings were written on the shooter’s bullet casings.
“Last night, Antifa physically attacked me for my America first values and actions. The same people that killed Charlie Kirk,” Ellis told the CU Independent. “Like Mr. Kirk, I will not let threats dissuade me from the TPUSA involvement or beliefs.”
TPUSA CU Boulder has since announced that they have open positions on the executive board this school year for secretary and treasurer. The chapter is currently accepting applications.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the TPUSA chapter to confirm whether Ellis is still secretary. Ellis was contacted for comment.
CONSERVATIVES WON’T ‘BACK DOWN’ IN FACE OF LEFTIST VIOLENCE
On Instagram, the Colorado Federation of Young Republicans voiced support for Ellis, saying, “No student should be threatened or attacked for their political beliefs.”
BPD did not respond to an inquiry asking if police are looking into the antifa cells that created the flyer or activist accounts that shared it.
