Florida
Florida college Republicans group chat reveals racist texts: ‘Avoid the coloreds like the plague’
It only took three weeks for a group chat for conservative students at Florida International University (FIU) to become a place where participants eagerly used racist slurs, prompting widespread condemnation from community leaders.
Abel Alexander Carvajal, secretary of Miami-Dade county’s Republican party and a student at FIU’s College of Law, reportedly started the chat after the killing of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, in September 2025.
But on Wednesday, the Miami Herald published leaked WhatsApp conversations in which the college Republicans made racist, sexist, antisemitic and homophobic comments, including variations of the N-word used more than 400 times. Knowledge of the chat’s existence was revealed on the same day that Republican lawmakers in Florida pushed forward a bill to rename a one-mile stretch of road alongside FIU in honor of Kirk.
William Bejerano, who the Herald noted once tried to start an anti-abortion group at Miami Dade College, was the most prolific user of the N-word. Using the slur, Bejerano called for dozens of acts of extreme violence against Black people, including crucifying, beheading and dissecting.
Dariel Gonzalez, then the College Republicans’ recruitment chair, who has recently applied to become a GOP committee member, responded to the calls for violence by saying: “How edgy.” He repeatedly used “colored” to describe Black people, including writing: “Ew you had colored professors?!” and “Avoid the coloreds like the plague,” according to the Herald.
Carvajal, who was appointed to a two-year role on the city of Hialeah’s planning and zoning board earlier this year, confirmed to the paper that the group chat was his doing, but he denied knowledge of the problematic comments until the publication contacted him about its logs last week.
“It’s been five months since this was sent and this is the first time I’ve seen this message,” Carvajal told the Herald.
“I guess to an extent, I bear some responsibility, cause I created a chat. But if I had seen this at the moment, I would have removed [Bejerano] from the chat. I probably would have even blocked his number.”
The Herald found that Carvajal had deleted 14 messages sent by other participants in the chat and 42 of his own messages before the publication obtained the chat’s logs.
He also participated in some of the racist discussions. While referring to a Black student who allegedly left FIU’s College Republicans after a member of the group “called her a [N-word]”, the Floridian reported that Carvajal wrote: “Why didn’t miggress leave?” Elsewhere in the chat, the publication reported that Carvajal used “Miggress”, “Migglet” and “Migger” to refer to Black women, Black children and Black people, in general.
At one point, Gonzalez wrote: “You can fuck all the [K-word, a slur for Jewish people] you want. Just don’t marry them and procreate.”
Ian Valdes, the Turning Point USA FIU chapter president, responded, “I would def not marry a Jew,” before changing the group chat’s name from “Uber [R-word slur for disabled people] Yapping” to “Gooning in Agartha”. “Gooning” is a gen-Z slang term for male masturbation, while “Agartha” is a mythical white civilization promoted by Heinrich Himmler, one of the most powerful leaders in Nazi Germany next to Hitler.
Gonzalez reportedly described Agartha to the group chat as “Nazi heaven sort of”.
Kevin Cooper, the first Jewish chair of the Miami Dade Republican party, condemned the group chat in a statement published to X and called for Carvajal’s resignation.
“The majority of our board voted to request Carvajal’s resignation. We have commenced removal proceedings and look forward to resolution from the Republican Party of Florida,” he wrote.
That call was echoed by Juan Porras, a Republican state representative and Miami-Dade GOP state committee member, who said in a statement: “Leadership carries responsibility. When someone in a leadership role engages in this kind of behavior, it damages the trust placed in our party by voters across Florida. For that reason, I am asking the Miami Dade Republican party secretary to step down from this position.”
In a joint statement, Florida Republican state senators Alexis Calatayud, Ileana Garcia and Ana Maria Rodriguez denounced the chats and called for the expulsion from party leadership of its participants.
“The individuals in the group chat have exposed how profoundly misaligned their beliefs are to the views of the Republican party of Florida,” their statement said. “We call for the immediate expulsion of the individuals disseminating from any level of leadership of the Miami-Dade Republican Party … We will not tolerate bigotry or discrimination.”
Multiple leaked group chats from young Republicans have created controversy in recent years.
Last year, Politico published messages from a group chat of more than 100 conservatives across the country in which users also made racist and antisemitic comments. In 2022, a Young Republican group chat from North Dakota was revealed as a cesspool of homophobic and antisemitic rhetoric.
Florida
Man killed in Florida train crash railroad crossing in Indian River
The train hit a pedestrian about 7:20 a.m. March 29 at the 77th Street railroad crossing, just west of Old Dixie Highway.
A man died in a freight train crash on the morning of March 29 in Indian River County, according to sheriff’s officials.
The Florida East Coast Railway train hit the man, identified as a pedestrian, about 7:20 a.m. at the 77th Street railroad crossing, just west of Old Dixie Highway, according to officials.
The man was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to officials. His name was withheld pending notification of his next of kin.
Because of the length of the train, several crossings in the area remain closed until the train can be moved. Drive alternate routes if traveling in the area.
County Road 510 at the crossing and 77th Street at 58th Avenue are currently closed.
A Brightline train was seen stopped just south of 69th Street unable to travel north.
Sheriff’s deputies and railroad officials remain at the scene investigating the cause of the crash.
No further information was immediately available.
Laurie K. Blandford is a breaking news reporter with TCPalm. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com.
Florida
Commandment wins the Florida Derby, now eyes Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown trail
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — Commandment broke his maiden last fall at Churchill Downs. He’ll soon be headed back there, looking for a much bigger victory.
By the slimmest of margins — a photo finish — Commandment won the Florida Derby on Saturday, completing a worst-to-first rally in the six-horse field and overtaking The Puma with the final bob of his head.
It was the fourth consecutive win for Commandment, who had jockey Flavien Prat aboard on Saturday. Next up: the Kentucky Derby, the start of the Triple Crown series on May 2 at Churchill Downs.
“He’s a racehorse, bottom line,” said trainer Brad Cox, who saddled the Florida Derby winner for the second consecutive year. “He always shows up. … He’s a Grade 1 winner. Florida Derby’s a big race. Proud of the horse. Very proud of the horse.”
The Puma took the lead at the top of the stretch and was maybe an inch or two shy of keeping it the rest of the way. Bettors roared when the official order of finish was announced, and Cox could finally exhale.
“Little too close for comfort,” Cox said.
Commandment returned $5.80 for the win. Chief Wallabee was third, favorite Nearly — the 7-5 top choice — was fourth and Wayne’s Law was fifth.
Commandment got 100 points toward the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. The Puma got 50 for finishing second, Chief Wallabee got 25 for third, Nearly got 15 for placing fourth and the fifth-place showing by Wayne’s Law earned him 10 points.
The Puma and Commandment went into Saturday’s race with spots for the Kentucky Derby basically secured, based on their point totals coming in — The Puma had 56, Commandment 50, and those likely would be enough to make the field.
Now, assuming both emerge from Saturday healthy and stay that way, they’re locks for the Run for the Roses.
“He’s got a great mind,” said Cox, just the fourth trainer to win the Florida Derby in back-to-back years, joining Todd Pletcher (who did it three times), Nick Zito and Horace Jones. “That’s going to take him a long way, the first Saturday in May.”
History has shown there’s a clear path from the winner’s circle at Gulfstream Park to the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs. The Florida Derby has been run by 26 eventual Kentucky Derby winners, more than any other prep race — most recently Sovereignty last year. Sovereignty was second in last year’s Florida Derby.
And Florida Derby winners have gone on to win 31 Triple Crown series races, including the Kentucky Derby on 15 occasions — the last of which was when Always Dreaming pulled it off in 2017. Those 31 victories in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont have come from 21 different Florida Derby winners.
UAE Derby
On Dubai World Cup day at Meydan, Wonder Dean won the UAE Derby for trainer Daisuke Takayanagi.
Wonder Dean is the fifth consecutive Japanese-trained winner of the UAE Derby. All four of the others went to the Kentucky Derby and Takayanagi — who guided T O Password to a fifth-place finish at the Run for the Roses in 2024 — said Wonder Dean is on his way as well.
Florida
Man shot to death in Wabasso, Indian River sheriff seeks help
A man is dead, found by Indian River County sheriff’s deputies with multiple gunshot wounds early March 28, Sheriff Eric Flowers said in a social media post by the agency.
The victim was not publicly identified.
Authorities believe the shooting happened about 5:30 a.m. near the 8500 block of 64th Avenue in the unincorporated area of Wabasso, Flowers said in the video, where he stood at the scene of the shooting.
The victim, Flowers said, was “transported to the emergency room, where he succumbed to his injuries.”
Flowers also asked for assistance from the public in piecing together what happened.
“Anybody who knows anything about this, anybody who lives in the Wabasso area who may have seen something or heard something, any delivery drivers, we’re looking for information from you,” Flowers said.
Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers, 800-273-8477.
This story will be updated.
Wicker Perlis is TCPalm’s Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at Wicker.Perlis@TCPalm.com.
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