An organization calling itself the Socialist Revolution is pushing back after Arizona State Representative Austin Smith called on Arizona State University officials to ban an organization meeting of the radical group from the university’s Tempe campus.
On Friday, Smith called on Arizona State University President Michael Crow and the Arizona Board of Regents to take immediate action to “remove” the Socialist Revolution’s meeting being hosted this Sunday, January 21, in Discovery Hall on the Tempe Campus of Arizona State University (ASU).
Smith tweeted his condemnation of the event on X.com, “How many Barrett Honors professors are attending? Does @michaelcrow have a strongly worded letter condemning this group for associating with an ideology responsible for the death of 94 million people?”
Social Revolution responded to Smith, “Actually the entire United States in 2024 is a hot bed for training new Marxists. And we’re just getting started!”
Actually the entire United States in 2024 is a hot bed for training new Marxists. And we’re just getting started! https://t.co/hxw0zJfdhC
— Socialist Revolution (@usimt) January 19, 2024
Later, Smith issued a scathing response in a press release:
I am deeply disturbed that members of a communist organization called “Socialist Revolution” are being permitted to host organizing sessions on the campus of Arizona State University.
Lenin, as the head of Soviet Russia, established a totalitarian regime that oversaw the mass killings and political repression of dissidents during his reign of terror in Russia and beyond. The Marxist ideology that inspired his dictatorship is responsible for the estimated deaths of millions across the globe, and some of the worst human atrocities known to man.
A responsible society which values freedom must protect those freedoms from abuse at the hands of enemy combatants who cry “liberty” while fighting to overthrow the very system under which they seek refuge. Communist organizing is not free speech. Communist organizing is used to plan for disruption, intimidation, agitation, or violence to achieve a desired outcome. As a matter of public policy, the State of Arizona rejects communism in all its forms and we will not tolerate this type of activity on taxpayer funded Arizona universities.
I am calling on ASU President Michael Crow and the Arizona Board of Regents to immediately and fully condemn this Marxist organizing and the threat it poses to students, faculty, and staff. Moreover, ASU should prohibit the meeting from occurring on the university campus by whatever means are required to protect the safety of all students, staff, and faculty.
The United States of America stood strong in the face of evil for over 40 years during the Cold War under the leadership of Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan, and the millions of brave Americans serving in our armed forces leading to the fall of the Soviet Union and the liberation of Eastern Europe.
If these Bolsheviks want to live under communist rule they can organize in their mother’s basement and, afterwards, buy a one-way ticket to Cuba, North Korea, or China.
No citizen or civilization with an ounce of self-respect or patriotism can or should tolerate brazen Marxist organizing activities such as the proposed “revolution” marching towards Tempe.
These vile, disgusting, and un-American ideals deserve a fiery fate atop the ash heap of history. And if we fail to defeat the threat of Marxism, soon we’ll find our great nation fallen there as well.
Your move President Crow — act wisely.
In June 2023, Smith called on the Arizona Board of Regents to investigate allegations that officials at ASU routinely squash conservative speech.
In his letter to the Regents, Smith cited the case of student Tim Tizon, who was arrested and charged “for handing out copies of the U.S. Constitution on campus.”