‘This doesn’t look like free speech’: Officials to investigate university for blocking Turning Point event

Charlie Kirk

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Chip Roy said Wednesday they plan to investigate a university’s decision to block a Turning Point USA event.

Their comments came in response to reports that Texas Christian University denied the student chapter’s request to host an on-campus event featuring detransitioner Chloe Cole.

“This doesn’t look like free speech to me,” Paxton wrote on X Wednesday morning. “I’m going to look into this.”

This doesn’t look like free speech to me. I’m going to look into this. @TCU https://t.co/7OutbFDEHi

— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) October 1, 2025

“My friend … [Chloe Cole] testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee,” Roy, R-Texas, wrote. “Expect an inquiry as to why she’s not welcomed by you … ”

Good question. Hey @TCU – my friend @ChoooCole testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee. Expect an inquiry as to why she’s not welcomed by you… https://t.co/JJo6fTZGuB

— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) October 1, 2025

Cole, who detransitioned at 16 and now speaks out against “gender-affirming care” for minors, said on X Tuesday that the university had been making its Turning Point chapter jump through “arbitrary hoops” for a “while” before ultimately denying its request for an available room.

She described the university as “cancelling” her, writing on X Tuesday, “Christian colleges (and otherwise) need to step up to keep democracy and free speech alive in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.”

The event, scheduled for Oct. 7, will now be held at Birchman Baptist Church. “The show goes on, but not on campus,” Cole wrote.

Texas Christian University, a private school based in Fort Worth, Texas, and affiliated with the Disciples of Christ denomination, says its mission is “to educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community.”

The school previously came under fire in 2023 for offering “The Queer Art of Drag,” a course designed to develop an understanding of “drag history and practices”—and which culminated in students participating in a live drag performance.

Texas Christian University did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.

[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]