What We Know About James Allsup, the WSU College Republican President Who Rallied in Charlottesville

screenshot from twitter

After white nationalists marched on the university of Virginia during the “Unite the Right” rally on Saturday night, Twitter user @YesYoureRacist began identifying some of the men pictured in photos from the event. One of those identified was Washington State University political science student James Allsup, who was pictured among the crowd of white men armed with tiki torches.

During an interview with Spokane news station KREM, Allsup maintained that he attended the Charlottesville rally “in a media capacity.” Still, he acknowledges that a rally organizer “unexpectedly asked him to make a few remarks,” which he did.

Allsup said he disagrees with the violence that took place in Charlottesville. "I think it's terrible that anyone had to lose their life. I think that's awful," Allsup said.

He also said while he disagrees with symbols like the swastika seen at the rally, he believes those individuals should not be restricted from free speech.

Allsup didn't return the Stranger’s requests for comment.

In a YouTube video, Allsup said he marched alongside Twitter user Baked Alaska, an alt-right leader. Allsup has also been identified as the president of the WSU College Republicans student club.

Last October, the WSU College Republicans led a campus event in which they built a Trump-inspired wall as a show of support for the then-presidential candidate, KING 5 reported.

Members of the WSU College Republicans did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Now, hundreds of Twitter and Facebook users are calling on WSU officials to expel Allsup for his participation in the Charlottesville rally. Should college officials choose to do so, that would be a “huge civil rights lawsuit win for me,” he tweeted.

“State schools legally can't discriminate,” he wrote. “If @WSUPullman were to do anything they would be sued BIGLY!”

Allsup seemed to laugh off his critics' accusations, saying that he is a political science student who attended a political event. "Let that sink in," he wrote.

In a series of tweets, WSU President Kirk H. Schulz wrote that the school officials "strongly denounce racism & Nazism of any kind & condemn the violence which occurred in Charlottesville. Hate has no place at WSU."