Young republican activists in New York with ties to top party leaders have been implicated in a texting scandal. Politico obtained text threads that had racist, antisemitic, and homophobic language.
The texts were sent over Telegram, an online messaging app. Politico obtained 2,900 pages of texts from January until mid-August.
They include jokes about gas chambers, affection for Hitler and the Nazis, and hundreds of slurs, including the N-word.
One exchange was led by Peter Giunta, who, up until the Politico story was published, was the Chief of Staff for New York State Assemblyman Mike Reilly of Staten Island. Giunta was also the former president of the New York State Young Republicans Club.
In June, he was running to chair the Young Republican National Federation. In one text thread reviewed by Politico, Giunta said “everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.”
Joe Maligno, who also had ties to the New York State Young Republicans, responded by saying, “Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic.”
Annie Kaykaty, New York’s Young Republican national committee member, chimed in and wrote, “I’m ready to watch people burn now.
Kaykaty declined to comment to Politico, while Maligno didn’t respond to the outlet’s request for comment.
Maligno had been working at the New York State Unified Court System; however, a spokesperson confirmed to Politico Tuesday night that he is no longer employed with the court system.
Bobby Walker was vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time of the texts and now leads the group. He used the homophobic f-word multiple times in chats.
Giunta and Walker both apologized for the comments, but suggested that the texts may have been doctored and were taken out of context.
The two have ties to North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. Stefanik endorsed Giunta for the national leadership position earlier this year.
"I was proud to support his campaign for National Young Republican Chair," Stefanik said at the annual New York State Young Republicans convention in August. "New York is very proud of you, Peter."
Stefanik accepted an award from Walker at the group's convention and described both Walker and Giunta as “the backbone of our party.”
In a statement to Politico, Stefanik’s senior advisor Alex DeGrasse said the Congresswoman was "absolutely appalled by the alleged comments," which DeGrasse described as "heinous, antisemitic, racist, and unacceptable."
Late Tuesday night, New York Assemblymember Mike Reilly told Politico that Peter Giunta's time as his chief of staff “has ended." Rep. Stefanik, NY Rep. Mike Lawler, and New York State Republican Senator Robert Ortt called for all members of the chat to resign.