Fearless Debates, the MAGA group that crashed the Tennessee State University (TSU) campus on Tuesday (September 23), has revealed the intention behind their unauthorized visit to the campus.
The conservative group sparked backlash at TSU as they wore MAGA hats and carried signs that read “DEI should be illegal” and “Deport all illegals no.” The group attempted to engage students in debates around these topics, which the NAACP said were “framed as debate but functioned as provocation.”
Members Lance Johnston and Cam Higby claimed the Fearless Debates group was on a mission to honor late conservative activist Charlie Kirk and promote open dialogue on political issues.
“We believe in dialogue, and we wanted to offer a space where people with differing viewpoints could speak,” Higby said. “But if you’re going to engage in conversations about disagreement, you need to go to places where those views are challenged. We didn’t intentionally target an HBCU or plan to cause offense.”
Higby further claimed the group “didn’t know” that they were on an HBCU campus.
“If you want to talk to people who disagree with you, you go to the place where people disagree with you,” Higby said. “We are not going to be caught at Liberty University trying to talk about conservative values, it’s not productive, it doesn’t accomplish anything, we are not going to make them deeper in their convictions with their beliefs. We didn’t do it intentionally, we didn’t know it was an HBCU.”
In response to the incident, TSU officials escorted the group off campus.
“We were not trying to disrupt the university’s environment,” Higby said. “We just wanted to engage in meaningful conversation.”
Fearless Debates said it’s going to continue to tour college campuses across the country, but will not disclose future locations due to safety concerns.
“We believe in open dialogue, but we have to prioritize safety for everyone involved,” Johnston said.
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