Turning Point USA’s chapter president at the University of Georgia has resigned following Vice President JD Vance’s campus appearance, which drew a small crowd. Turning Point CEO Erika Kirk also backed out of the event at the last moment, according to reports released Thursday.
Caroline Mattox, the leader of the UGA chapter, stated in her resignation letter that the organization had strayed from the principles she once believed it upheld. In her letter, she shared that joining Turning Point USA had been “a dream,” but it became “clear” after Vance’s visit that the group had lost its “mission and purpose.”
“It became clear to me that the organization’s current direction no longer matches the principles it was founded on,” Mattox wrote. She expressed her “significant concerns about its messaging and current path,” adding that she could no longer “in good conscience” represent the group.
Her resignation followed Turning Point USA’s event with Vance at Akins Ford Arena in Athens on April 14. The event was part of the group’s campus tour and was supposed to include Erika Kirk with the vice president.
🚨BREAKING NEWS:
The president of Turning Point’s University of Georgia chapter will be resigning later this evening due to the internal treatment and subsequent public lies told by Turning Point executives surrounding Erika Kirk’s last minute cancellation of the event w/ Vice…
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 23, 2026
Kirk did not attend. Fox 5 Atlanta reported that Vance told the audience she had received threats, which made him consider canceling the event. “Let’s let Erika do what she needs to do for herself and her family,” Vance said, according to the station.
The Georgia event also gained attention for its low turnout. The Daily Beast reported that the 8,000-capacity venue seemed about a quarter full. A professor interviewed by the outlet estimated around 1,200 attendees, including roughly 900 seats filled on the floor and about 300 in other parts of the arena. Turning Point USA and Vance’s representatives did not confirm these numbers.
Mattox seemed to push back against claims from Turning Point members who said outsiders had skewed the event’s turnout by reserving tickets and not showing up. In her letter, she noted that Charlie Kirk, the group’s late founder, “spent his life fighting for truth.”
She added that she did not believe he would endorse “the blatant dishonesty now being spread by the organization he built.” She emphasized that his work “was never about numbers, appearances, or relevance,” but about engaging people through conversation.
The resignation letter written by the University of Georgia’s Turning Point chapter President is worth reading.
Though I doubt she will ever receive an apology from anyone on the executive team, we can at least share and hope @JDVance sees it.
Classy and well-stated. https://t.co/qvHyiL7K13 pic.twitter.com/GvQtB2BuTe
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 23, 2026
Her resignation reflects the growing tension within the organization after Charlie Kirk’s death last year. The Daily Beast reported that the University of Arkansas chapter disbanded following Erika Kirk’s visit, with its former president stating that members disagreed with how Charlie Kirk’s legacy had been handled since his passing.
Turning Point USA has also restricted access at later tour stops. At Baylor University this week, the group denied media credentials, and Baylor disputed Turning Point USA’s account of ticket limits for that event. The Daily Beast reported that this decision came after the backlash from Georgia and amid criticism from some current and former student leaders.
