University of Illinois Republicans club adopt slogan used by white supremacists
The Illini Republicans club at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is facing backlash after posting an illustration on social media of a masked gunman holding a weapon to a kneeling man’s head — alongside the caption, “Only traitors help invaders.”
The Instagram post, published Friday, also says Alex Pretti and Renée Good — who were both fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis last month — had “voided their liberties the moment they decided they were above the law.”
“Our nation has come under invasion from the masses of the third world and those incompatible with Western civilization,” the post says. “Now, the current administration, as duly elected by its people to do so, has taken a stand against this invasion.”
The illustration was later deleted from the post, as first reported by the Daily Illini. But it prompted a complaint to the university’s Title VI Office, and drew a slew of criticism from U. of I. students online, who argue that it glorified the deaths of Pretti and Good as well as the unrest engulfing Minnesota.
“My first initial reaction was just disgust, horror and nausea,” said sophomore Rylee Graves, 19, a member of Illini Democrats. “For them to say that that post was not violent or they weren’t condoning violence is a lie, and they know exactly what they’re doing.”
The image, set against the backdrop of the American flag, depicts a bearded man with his back turned as the gunman looms above him. Some students said that both the man and the scene resembled the Jan. 24 killing of Pretti, who was shot multiple times in the back.
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In 2024, ABM held at least 17 demonstrations—typically in highly visible locations—and training events, as well as numerous smaller events, like white supremacist hikes, banner drops and propaganda distributions. These include a December 22, 2024, banner drop event on an overpass in Dallas, Texas, where individuals associated with ABM and the Texas Nationalist Network displayed banners with white supremacist and Catholic symbols that read: “Refugees today, terrorists tomorrow” and “Only traitors help invaders.”