TOPEKA — The chairman and vice chairman of the Kansas Young Republicans took part in encrypted chats with political peers that were laced with violent, racist and antisemitic rhetoric and blended with references to white supremacy and suppression of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
On Tuesday, the chairman of the Kansas Republican Party said the Politico article disclosing the commentary prompted immediate deactivation of the Kansas Young Republicans organization.
Politico, a digital news company specializing in coverage of U.S. politics, reported Kansas Young Republicans chair Alex Dwyer and vice chair William Hendrix took part in the Telegram group chat.
In 2,900 pages of chat text, Hendrix praised the Missouri Young Republicans because leaders in that state didn’t like LGBTQ+ people. He repeatedly used racial slurs to refer to Black people, including words such as “n------” and “n------.” In a July conversation in the thread about African-Americans, he said, “Bro is at a chicken restaurant ordering his food. Would he like some watermelon and Kool-Aid with that?”
He was fired from a communications job in the office of Attorney General Kris Kobach as Politico prepared its report on Hendrix’s role in the chat.
“The comments in the chat are inexcusable,” Kobach said. “As soon as the office learned of those messages, Will Hendrix’s employment was terminated.”
In the chat threads, Dwyer and others delved into discussions of how GOP operatives could tarnish a political candidate by linking the individual to white supremacists. The idea was dismissed, Politico said, because the plan could backfire in a place such as Kansas where “Young Republicans could end up becoming attracted to that opponent.” Subsequently, a person in the chat asked others to guess what room number they had a hotel.
Dwyer responded: “1488.” That figure is a form of shorthand among white supremacists when making reference to their beliefs. It refers to the 14 words of text in the slogan, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” The “88” stands for “Heil Hitler,” with the H marking the eighth letter of the alphabet.
At another juncture, Dwyer touched on controversy involving release of government files on Epstein, the convicted sex offender. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have sought public release of files to either exonerate or incriminate President Donald Trump or other prominent individuals.
“Trumps too busy burning the Epstein files,” Dwyer wrote on Telegram.
Dwyer didn’t respond to a request for an interview. Hendrix, who ran unsuccessfully for Topeka City Council in 2021, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Before Politico’s disclosure of the Young Republicans’ commentary, Dwyer and Hendrix were photographed at a campaign event with Senate President Ty Masterson, the Andover Republican who is a 2026 candidate for governor. A social media post of the picture, taken at Masterson’s campaign announcement event, shows both of them holding signs touting Masterson’s campaign for governor.
The Masterson campaign released a statement after the Senate president landed in Washington, D.C., for meetings Wednesday with White House officials. In that statement, Masterson blamed political opponents for “shopping around a photo, with deceitful intentions, in efforts to disparage” him.
“I categorically deny any association with William Hendrix or Alex Dwyer, as neither is current, nor has ever been, on staff or volunteered for my campaign for governor,” Masterson said. “Anyone suggesting otherwise is either lying or misinformed.”
In addition, Masterson said, he was guided by deep Christian faith and possessed a record of condemning hateful and violent rhetoric.
“I am personally disgusted by the comments attributed to individuals in the article, as such behavior is utterly counter to Christ’s message that life is valuable and we are all equal in God’s eyes, and my unwavering commitment to these values has not changed,” the statement said.
A collection of Kansas Republicans and a Democratic candidate for governor denounced contents of this trove of Telegram messages logged under “RESTOREYR WAR ROOM,” or Restore Young Republicans.
The communications chronicled by Politico covered a period between January and August, and involved state Republican leaders in Kansas, Vermont, Arizona and New York. Included in the thousands of comments was this insight: “If we ever had a leak on this chat, we will be cooked.”
“The viewpoints expressed in this chat are not representative of Kansans. Period,” said former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor. “Our state was founded on the belief that all of us are created equal under God — and anyone who mocks those principles dishonors the very spirit of Kansas.”
Vicki Schmidt, the state’s insurance commissioner and a Republican candidate for governor, said Dwyer and Hendrix should formally resign from their Young Republicans positions because “their actions are disgusting and disgraceful and they tarnish the reputation of Kansas nationally.”
Sen. Cindy Holscher, a Johnson County Democrat also running for governor, said she was disgusted by messages shared by Kansas GOP political operatives that promoted overt racism, extremism, antisemitism and sexual violence. She said the extremist language was encouraged from the top down by politicians who seek to divide voters rather than bring them together.
“Let’s be clear: These aren’t kids joking around,” Holscher said. “These are 20- and 30-something adults with leadership roles in the Republican Party. The chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, who participated in these messages, is nearly 30 years old. Unfortunately, this type of rhetoric is not isolated. For too long in Kansas, the Republican Party has been dominated by extremists who see no room for moderation or bipartisanship, let alone unity or mutual respect.”
Danedri Herbert, chair of the Kansas Republican Party, said the organization’s leadership was disgusted by comments by young Kansas Republicans contained in the Politico story. In March, Herbert was elected state party chair. She is Black.
“Their comments do not reflect the beliefs of Republicans and certainly not of Kansas Republicans at large,” she said. “Republicans believe that all people are created in the image of God.”
She said the state party platform stated: “We welcome Kansans of every ethnicity into our party as we work together to preserve our heritage of political equality, religious freedom and strong moral values. We strive to eliminate racism and we condemn all racist acts and groups.”
Michael Austin, chief executive of the Kansas Black Republican Council, said the organization unequivocally rebuked the behavior and language revealed in Politico’s report.
“Such conduct is not merely offensive. It is a betrayal of the very principles upon which our party was founded: the defense of liberty, the abolition of slavery and the belief in the inherent worth and dignity of every human being,” Austin said. “Let there be no confusion. These few individuals do not represent Kansas, nor do they reflect the values of Kansas Republicans.”
He said all Republicans should in this moment “uphold the standard of integrity, moral courage and respect that has long defined our party’s proud history.”
