Security video shows altercation between conservative activists and ASU instructor

Security camera footage obtained by The Arizona Republic via a public records request offers a bird's-eye view of a Wednesday altercation between a queer Arizona State University professor and two people associated with the conservative group Turning Point USA.

The footage shows an area outside the Fulton Garage on the university's Tempe campus. The video begins as the faculty member, writing instructor David Boyles, comes into view. He is flanked by two people dressed in dark-colored clothing. Turning Point USA described them as a "reporter" and a "cameraman."

Boyles appears to rush toward the person filming him. In an Instagram post describing the confrontation, Boyles said he attempted to block the camera.

"Knowing that they were filming in order to post this online and inspire even more harassment against me, I moved to block the camera," Boyles wrote.

Background on confrontation: ASU investigating after instructor confronted by Turning Point USA 'crew'

The surveillance video shows Boyles reaching toward the camera and that he may have made contact with the person filming.

Turning Point USA released a statement Thursday night claiming Boyles made the first move by "lunging, pushing and clawing" at the person filming him. The organization reiterated that point in a statement to The Republic on Friday evening, saying that Boyles "was the one who initiated a physical altercation."

The person who was filming Boyles intends to file a police report, Turning Point USA officials said Friday evening. Adam Wolfe, a spokesperson for ASU police, said Boyles filed a police report on Wednesday after the incident but that his agency did not have a police report from the person associated with Turning Point USA.

The video then appears to show the other Turning Point USA affiliate rushing toward Boyles and pushing him onto the ground. Turning Point USA officials said in their Thursday statement that their affiliate "attempted to remove Professor Boyles from our cameraman, which caused Mr. Boyles to fall and scrape his face on the ground."

On Friday, Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet said in a statement to The Republic that "our reporter pushed Mr. Boyles only to keep his camera man safe."

The two people step back while Boyles is down on the pavement. Boyles stands up and begins to gather his belongings scattered on the sidewalk. Another person is seen rushing in to help Boyles. The four people briefly walk off camera.

A few seconds later, in another, blurrier version of the security footage filmed by an ASU employee off a computer screen and provided to The Republic, the two Turning Point affiliates are seen running down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of Boyles.

Boyles did not respond to an inquiry Friday from The Republic.

University officials said in a statement that the incident remains under "active investigation."

"Harassment or threatening behavior toward ASU employees is dangerous, unsettling and will not be tolerated," a spokesperson said.

Boyles targeted by Turning Point USA for LGBTQ+ programming

Video posted online by Turning Point USA shows that its affiliates approached Boyles.

He said he would not answer their questions, but they continued to follow him and film him, asking him when he "became obsessed with sex education," why children should be present at shows where people "shake their genitals and fake breasts" and how he became "attracted to minors." At times, the video jumps ahead and doesn't show the entire interaction.

"You can't run," one of the Turning Point USA affiliates told Boyles in the video.

Boyles is co-founder of Drag Story Hour Arizona, an organization that started in 2019 and aims to bring "inclusive story times" to children and support diversity in early literacy, according to its website. In an Instagram post, he said he was leaving a class he teaches about LGBTQ+ youth in pop culture and politics when the two people approached him.

Arizona lawmakers in the LGBTQ legislative caucus called Boyles "a longtime champion of the queer community" in a statement on Friday night. That group includes Democratic Reps. Lorena Austin of Mesa, Oscar De Los Santos of Laveen, Analise Ortiz of Phoenix and Patricia Contreras of Phoenix.

Boyles is included on Turning Point USA's "professor watchlist," which the group describes as consisting of "professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom." Earlier this year, ASU President Michael Crow asked Turning Point USA to remove ASU faculty from the list because of harassing messages.

Accusing LGBTQ+ people of pedophilia and "grooming" young people to be victims of sexual abuse has reemerged in recent years as a common political attack by far-right extremists. Sarah Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD, said campuses and other public spaces are "getting more dangerous" for queer people.

She pointed to a slew of recent anti-LGBTQ+ bomb threats targeting schools, saying the "violent attacks and attempts at violence are aimed at scaring LGBTQ people back into the closet, and it must stop."

"LGBTQ people are part of the fabric of our society and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect like everyone else," Ellis said. "We must hold accountable those who are perpetuating this violence, because the consequences are too dire otherwise."

Meanwhile, tensions on university campuses across the country this week are "probably the highest we’ve seen them since 2020," said Alex Morey, a spokesperson for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit focusing on free speech and academic freedom on college campuses.

"Violence has absolutely no place on a college campus, or anywhere, and it’s important police are involved to ensure student and faculty safety," she said. "Violence or other criminal activity is not free speech."

How does ASU protect its faculty?

Boyles directly criticized ASU leaders in his statements on Instagram, saying they have "made the university a safe space for bigots of all kinds, partly in pursuit of donations from right-wing billionaires and partly because they are just cowards."

Democratic state lawmakers in the LGBTQ legislative caucus echoed those thoughts in their statement on Friday.

"To Arizona State University: Do better," the lawmakers wrote. "It is absolutely vital to the mission of a state-supported university to protect your faculty and students from extremists using intimidation and violence to stifle the free and open exchange of ideas, academic discovery and research."

ASU spokesperson Chris Fiscus told The Republic that the university does not mandate security training for faculty.

However, university officials pointed to the school's threat assessment and management team as an option to assist faculty experiencing harassment or intimidation. That group works to respond in a "timely manner to all reports of harassment or threats, help employees navigate appropriate resources for support and work with ASU PD and other law enforcement agencies as appropriate," said ASU spokesperson Veronica Sanchez.

ASU also has a team that "actively monitors and investigates all potential online threats and harassment, working closely with law enforcement," Sanchez said.

If a faculty member or student is experiencing a life-threatening emergency, they should call 911, ASU officials said.

The university's non-emergency police line is 480-965-3456, officials said.

Students, faculty and staff can also submit anonymous tips to ASU police via the ASU LiveSafe app, officials said.

Sasha Hupka covers higher education for The Arizona Republic. Do you have a tip on Arizona's universities, community colleges or trade schools? Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SashaHupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU video shows altercation between conservative activists and teacher