Texas AG Paxton to investigate TCU over Turning Point event school says was not booked

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he intends to “look into” TCU after a conservative activist alleged the university discriminated against her for her talking points.

Chloe Cole, 21, wrote on X that Texas Christian University canceled an event by the school’s Turning Point USA chapter where she was scheduled to speak. However, school officials said the Oct. 7 event was never canceled because it was not booked in the first place.

Kathy Cavins-Tull, vice chancellor for student affairs, said in a statement that the university’s Turning Point chapter requested the university host the event after an unaffiliated party invited Cole to appear on the campus on that date. The requested space was already booked for another student event, she said.

University officials explored options to accommodate the event and notified the group Sept. 25 that a secure space was not available given the short notice, Cavins-Tull said. School officials offered to find another date or space for the event, she added.

Social media posts reflecting Cole’s characterization of what transpired prompted swift reaction from elected leaders across Texas.

“This doesn’t look like free speech to me. I’m going to look into this,” Paxton wrote in an early Wednesday morning post on X. A spokesperson for his office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Last month, TCU hosted a vigil to honor Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot Sept. 10. The university hosted Kirk for an on-campus event in 2023 during a college campus tour.

Cole, who grew up in California, built a national platform speaking about her experience as a transgender teenager. After detransitioning at 16, she began advocating against gender-affirming care for children across the United States. Last month, a Missouri legislator introduced the Chloe Cole Act, a bill aimed at prohibiting doctors and hospitals from providing gender-affirming care to youth and allowing families of transgender youth to seek civil damages from doctors and hospitals that provided such care.

Cole wrote in a Sept. 30 X post that the event will go on but not on campus. Students and guests will gather Oct. 7 at Birchman Baptist Church in far west Fort Worth.

In another post, she criticized TCU for allowing LGBTQ Pride events on campus. Cole asserts that school officials denied her event without discussion, despite event rooms being available for use Oct. 7.

“This is how free speech dies,” Cole wrote.

The event is sponsored by the Forge Room Foundation, a Christian-based nonprofit founded by Fort Worth native Lance Cashion. The organization describes its work as creating a community of “culture-shaping Christians in Fort Worth through worldview training and faithful action,” according to its website.

Cashion and foundation representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The organization previously held an event at TCU on Sept. 23 titled “TCU Academic Series: Conversations with Theologians,” according to its website.

Birchman Baptist Church’s Senior Pastor Robert Pearle said he confirmed with the Forge Room Foundation that he would be delighted to host the event.

It was important for the church to “stand for truth, even if no one else is willing to,” Pearle said.

“Chloe has a message that the younger generation in our country needs to hear,” Pearle said. “And she’s got a powerful story, and it does go against some of the grain of mainstream thought.”

The controversy attracted scrutiny from Republican officials and activists, including U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Kerrville, and Tarrant County GOP chairman Bo French, who is often critical of TCU staff on social media.

Roy wrote in an X post Wednesday that he “expect(s) an inquiry as to why she’s not welcomed by you.”

French, who has denounced the university for allowing LGBTQ Pride events on campus, wrote in an X post that the university has time to “course correct.”

“Rid yourself of the institution ruining marxists in your midst and restore the mission of TCU,” French wrote. “You have the chance to make it the preeminent conservative Christian school in the country.”

Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org. 

Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org. 

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