Nearly 8 million people have watched a short video from a Turning Point USA event at the University of Minnesota. The fallout has now pushed a University of St. Thomas student out of school.
The student is withdrawing from St. Thomas. The university posted her apology on its website Tuesday.
“I want to sincerely apologize for my actions during the situation with the protesters,” she wrote. “Regardless of the circumstances, I should have handled the situation with respect, and I take full responsibility for my behavior. I am truly sorry.”
The footage comes from the Oct. 14 event featuring women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines. In it, the student says, “Go back to your country, bitch.”
A post on X that shared the video described the person she addressed as a “brown man.”
Accusations of racism poured in. Bring Me The News called her words a “racist comment” in its headline.
Protest organizers have scheduled a demonstration on the St. Thomas campus later this week.
The man on the receiving end is Derek Torstenson, a left-wing activist. Alpha News reports that he appears to be white.
He claims he was adopted from Moscow and speaks with a “strong accent.”
Sarah Barker attended the same event. She told Alpha News she has run into Torstenson at several demonstrations and recognizes his routine.
Barker said Torstenson held a megaphone beside her ear on Oct. 14 and yelled, “you’re a transphobe,” “you hate trans people,” and “you should have been aborted.”
She said she kept quiet, based on past encounters. Torstenson then shouted, “Are you deaf?”
“He does this to get a reaction out of people,” Barker told Alpha News.
Barker said Torstenson also carries a large folding fan printed with a sexually explicit slur. Alpha News reports he had both the fan and the megaphone at the Oct. 14 event.
“He holds the megaphone and then he claps the fan closed and open, and it’s very loud. So he can shake it open and closed, and it’s very, very loud and annoying,” she said.
“He very much wants to incite people,” Barker said. She added, “When someone responds to his filth, he amps it up, and focuses on them.”
Barker stood outside while the confrontation unfolded and did not see the exchange with the student. She said she believes the young woman reacted the way others have at earlier events.
“This student didn’t know to ignore him,” she said. “She responded as many others have at other protests and rallies.”
Alpha News has previously reported on Torstenson’s appearances at protests that turned into heated confrontations.
Video from a February incident shows police detaining him outside a Target store.
An X user also posted images that reportedly show him shouting through a megaphone at a Target manager in Richfield.
St. Thomas responded to the video four days before the student’s apology. The university condemned her language and opened an investigation into the off-campus incident.
“The language heard in the video is inconsistent with the university’s values and convictions,” the university said.
The student’s statement went further.
“I understand that my actions have consequences, and I take responsibility for that,” she said. “I know I have a lot to learn from this experience, and I am committed to educating myself and better understanding how my words and actions affect others.”
Alpha News put two questions to the university.
It asked whether administrators knew of Torstenson’s reported behavior before the confrontation, and whether the investigation would weigh that context.
It also asked what the school is doing to protect the student from harassment, threats or retaliation during the publicity.
The university did not respond to either question.
