New York Assemblyman Michael Reilly fired his chief of staff over his participation in a group chat with young Republicans where Hitler references and racist jokes were made.
Peter Giunta, who served in Reilly’s office for more than five years, was linked to offensive texts in a Telegram chat that was first reported by Politico.
Giunta reportedly said, “I love Hitler” and made comments about sending people to the “gas chamber” if they don’t support his nomination for chair of the Young Republican National Federation, a 15,000-member political group for GOP voters between the ages of 18 and 40 years old.
“Im going to create some of the greatest physiological torture methods known to man. We only want true believers,” he added in the thread of messages.
Reilly said he was disturbed by the messages and dismissed Giunta after learning about his statements.
“The comments shared in the group chat that have been reported are extremely troubling and disappointing. They do not align with my values. As a result, Mr. Giunta’s assignment in my office has ended,” Reilly said in a statement to The Hill.
Vermont state Sen. Samuel Douglass (R) also allegedly made comments in the chat, warranting Gov. Phil Scott (R) to urge him to resign.
“The hateful statements made in this group chat are disgusting and unacceptable. The vile, racist, bigoted, and antisemitic dialogue that has been reported is deeply disturbing. There is simply no excuse for it,” Scott said in a Tuesday statement.
“Those involved should resign from their roles immediately and leave the Republican party – including Vermont State Senator Sam Douglass,” he added.
While backlash against Giunta and other Young Republican leaders from Kansas, New York and Vermont have taken helm, participants have questioned the legitimacy of 2,900 pages obtained from the Telegram chat.
Giunta said screenshots were provided to Politico for “extortion” purposes by Gavin Wax and the New York City Young Republican Club in a “highly-coordinated year-long character assassination.”
However, he apologized for the hurt caused.
“I am so sorry to those offended by the insensitive and inexcusable language found within the more than 28,000 messages of a private group chat that I created during my campaign to lead the Young Republican National Federation,” Giunta told Politico.
“While I take complete responsibility, I have had no way of verifying their accuracy and am deeply concerned that the message logs in question may have been deceptively doctored,” he added.
