Identity of Speakers
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Nick Solheim
Unaffiliated
Invited for non-academic lectureCEO of American Moment, a Washington‑based nonprofit that trains and places young conservatives in government, business, and policy roles to advance a national‑conservative agenda
Resources
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
Other student-organized event
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Incident Political Orientation:
Right wing -
Incident Responses:
Other
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Incident Status:
No litigation
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
On October 20, 2025, the student organization Boston College Republicans at Boston College hosted Nick Solheim, CEO of the conservative advocacy group American Moment, for a talk titled “How to Implement the MAGA Agenda.” In his remarks, Solheim repeatedly framed political conflict as a matter of life and death, telling students they must be prepared for martyrdom to advance the MAGA agenda. He said, “I want to start with a heavy exhortation—you need to be willing to be killed.” Solheim added that simply attending the event placed students at risk of political violence. He also said, “Live in recognition of the fact that they will kill you and everybody that you love to get what they want—open borders, sex changes for minors, so-called gay marriages, health care for illegal immigrants, and so on. If they’re willing to kill the people making this policy, they’re more than willing to kill the people who voted for it, too.” He stated further, “There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people in this country who would kill you for just being in this room.” Despite framing the moment as existential, Solheim urged the audience to avoid engaging in political violence, saying, “No, we are not having a neat and tidy debate in the so-called marketplace of ideas—that is long past. But we don’t assassinate, attack indiscriminately, or violate our enemy, and for a simple reason. As Tucker Carlson once said, ‘That’s not how white men fight.'”
On October 23, the university’s Office of Student Involvement confirmed that the event had been held without proper approval and opened an investigation into the matter. That same day, the student body newspaper condemned Solheim’s remarks, stating that his rhetoric “employs fear‑mongering techniques and places marginalized individuals on campus at risk.” The College Democrats of Boston College also issued a statement, saying they “strongly condemn” the speech and that it portrayed fellow Americans, including LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, and Democrats, as enemies, calling the language “not only false but irresponsible.”
On October 24, Boston College Republicans publicly denounced Solheim’s comments, saying, “Mr. Solheim’s views and rhetoric were unprecedented and unrepresentative of the views of our club members, and we do not endorse any of these views.” The club described the lapse in event registration as a procedural oversight and said it was cooperating with the Office of Student Involvement and the Dean of Students to address the matter.
On October 28, the national umbrella organization College Republicans of America announced that Boston College Republicans had been designated an Unwelcome Organization under its bylaws and had their charter revoked effective immediately. The organization said the revocation was prompted by Boston College Republicans’ disavowal of Solheim’s remarks and by what it described as disloyalty. Boston College Republicans responded that they are self-managing, do not receive funding from the national organization, and intend to continue operating independently.
