Detransitioner Chloe Cole Cancels University of Washington Speech Over Antifa Threats

Detransitioner Chloe Cole canceled a scheduled speech at the University of Washington on Wednesday after citing threats from Antifa.

"Antifa has assembled a local militia, in their own words, to shut down this event," Cole said in a video announcement Tuesday. "Their actions, their explicit threats on my life, have raised this event to national attention, a level of attention our security team and our PD are frankly unprepared for."

Cole, who transitioned from female to male between ages 12 and 16, had been set to speak in Kane 210 as part of Turning Point USA's "Pick Up the Mic" initiative. At 15, she underwent hormones and a double mastectomy.

UW Divest News, a pro-Palestinian group, posted on Instagram urging students to protest the event. The post called Cole a "transphobic right-wing grifter" and instructed protesters to "bring flags, drums, or anything to make some noise! Email UW admin to cancel the event and ban Turning Point USA from campus! WE WILL NOT TOLERATE HATE GROUPS ON CAMPUS! WE LOVE OUR TRANS SIBLINGS! FREE PALESTINE!"

Cole cited the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old Turning Point USA co-founder who was shot and killed Sept. 10 during a speech at Utah Valley University for TPUSA's American Comeback Tour. "Before Charlie Kirk's assassination, I think I would have been less careful," she said. "But the times have changed and speaking on a university campus in 2026 can come with deadly consequences. We are postponing this event because of this reality."

She added, "But there is a difference between being brave and being stupid. This is not a win for Antifa because truth will always win. Christ will always prevail. God created each and every single one of us in his image, and there are only two sexes. That is the exact message I was going to take to University of Washington tomorrow. I will be back. Not just at UW, but to many campuses across the country. Because once conversations stop, that is when the violence begins."

UW Divest News posted Wednesday celebrating the cancellation. "Turning Point USA bends to student power by cancelling their event with a transphobic agitator tomorrow. Join us tomorrow at 6 p.m. outside of Kane Hall to celebrate this win and make sure they know not to return."

Andrew Kolvet, a Turning Point USA spokesperson, said in a statement to Fox News Digital, "We’re incredibly proud of our student leaders, the local chapter, and Chloe, all of whom did everything in their power to push forward with the event, and when it became clear they could not do so safely, committed immediately to rescheduling."

Kolvet added, "There’s been a lot of debate in the media about whether political violence is in fact a 'both sides' issue, and yet TPUSA continues to face violence and threats of violence from the radical left when we attempt to peacefully assemble and debate ideas. Words are not violence. The truth is not violence. Violence is violence, and right now the vast majority of it in this country is coming from a militant cadre of Antifa, Transtifa, and Pro-Palestine aligned groups who have completely abandoned the American ideals of open debate and dialogue and have turned instead to violent extremism."

A University of Washington spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital that "the national TPUSA organization made the decision to cancel the event that was scheduled for today. You would have to ask them why they made that decision."

The spokesperson noted, "UW develops security plans for permitted events on a case-by-case basis, including the TPUSA event featuring Nick Freitas just last week that was held without incident or interruption, and was planning accordingly for the event that had been scheduled for today."

Fox News Digital reached out to UW Divest News for comment.