Texas authorities have identified a man accused of attacking students at a Turning Point USA tent on the University of Texas at Tyler campus Tuesday in the latest attack on the conservative youth organization whose founder was assassinated last year.
Smith County booking records identify the suspect Ciro Tomlian.
Video of the incident shows a man wearing a cape and a round-brimmed hat as he threw an American flag on the ground and swung a cane at a group of people. He is a former student who was not enrolled at the school at the time of the attack, according to authorities.
Tomlian faces two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and another of assault causing bodily injury after allegedly striking TPUSA students with a cane.
In the video, which shows the end of the encounter and Tomlian’s arrest by campus police, the suspect grabs an American flag, throws it over his shoulder, gives the students the middle finger and can be heard saying “Back the f— off you fascist pieces of s—.”
A woman off-camera tells him to “stay away,” and he raises the cane before taking a checked swing in her direction.
The man identified as Tomlian screams “back up!” again, and the woman tells someone else to “just back up.”
Then a male voice, also off-camera, tells Tomlian, “No one’s scared of you.”
That’s when he swings the cane again, apparently striking the speaker, before someone else runs over and grabs the cane. Police arrive moments later and place the suspect in handcuffs.
Once cuffed, he appears to paint the incident as self-defense and says, “freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences.”
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“I apologize officer,” he says as he’s led away. “I was backed into a corner.”
In a statement, UT Tyler President Dr. Julie V. Philley confirmed that the attack took place at a Turning Point USA student event.
“An individual, who is not a UT Tyler student, assaulted three people,” she said. “UT Tyler police responded immediately and arrested the individual.”
Tomlian remains in custody at the Smith County jail, records show. He has been trespassed from school grounds.
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“Everyone has the right to free speech, and violence will not be tolerated at this university,” Philley said.
On Election Day, New Hampshire police arrested a 70-year-old poet who allegedly slapped a volunteer for Turning Point Action, an affiliated nonprofit, across the face outside a polling place. That incident also appeared on video.
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Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated at the Utah Valley University campus during another TPUSA event last year. The suspect in the case, Tyler Robinson, has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in June 2028.
