Turning Point affiliates admit to harassing queer ASU professor, must complete diversion program

Two Turning Point USA affiliates admitted guilt after facing charges stemming from an incident last year in which they harassed a queer Arizona State University professor.

Kalen D'Almeida, 31, and Braden Joel Ellis, 22, signed off on identical deferred prosecution deals filed with University Lakes Justice Court on Monday. They must now complete court-ordered diversion programs before April 2025.

If they fail to complete the curriculum, they could still be prosecuted.

D'Almeida was charged with harassment, assault and disorderly conduct, all misdemeanor charges. Ellis faced a harassment charge in the case. They initially pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The men confronted and injured writing instructor David Boyles near the Fulton Garage on ASU's campus in Tempe. The altercation left Boyles with scrapes and bruising on his face.

The incident increased scrutiny of common tactics employed by Turning Point USA, a conservative organization that often follows and films college professors. The faculty are usually ones on its "professor watchlist," which the group describes as consisting of "professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom."

It added fuel to a firestorm against ASU at the Arizona Legislature, where some conservative lawmakers were threatening to strip money from the school's already historically diminished public budget. Plus, it raised new questions about security problems facing universities as digital harassment increasingly plays out in the real world and political polarization fuels controversy.

Turning Point USA posted video of the interaction, which shows the men approached Boyles. He said he would not answer their questions, but they continued to follow him and film him, asking him when he "became obsessed with sex education," why children should be present at shows where people "shake their genitals and fake breasts" and how he became "attracted to minors."

"You can't run," D'Almeida told Boyles in the video.

Security footage of the incident showed the D'Almeida and Ellis following Boyles, who appeared to rush toward the person filming him. The surveillance video showed Boyles reaching toward the camera. It then shows D'Almeida rushing toward Boyles and pushing him onto the ground.

Boyles told The Arizona Republic on Tuesday that he was pleased to see "that the two hateful losers who stalked, harassed, and assaulted me at my place of work last October have admitted their guilt."

"I hope this incident has made people aware that Turning Point USA does not care about free speech or serious debate but instead trades in hateful and bigoted rhetoric solely to 'create content' for their endless tedious podcasts and to stoke fear and violence in the real world," he said, adding that ASU administrators should "work to protect their LGBTQ+ students, staff, and faculty by no longer indulging and coddling organizations like TPUSA."

He added that he was "disappointed but not surprised" that Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell "chose to pursue the lightest possible slap on the wrist" for them" for D'Almeida and Ellis. Through a spokesperson, Mitchell said diversion isn't "a lesser penalty."

“Under my leadership, diversion demands far more of defendants," Mitchell said. "We will continue to protect the rights of all people in Maricopa County, including members of the LGBTQ+ community.”

Kurt Altman, an attorney defending D'Almeida and Ellis, said Tuesday that his clients "have been found guilty of nothing."

"Diversion is an opportunity for people to learn from encounters like this and will result in complete dismissal of all charges, meaning no criminal conviction," he told The Republic. "It will also allow the professor to escape the requirement of testifying and enduring a difficult cross-examination focusing on his inconsistent statements to police and his initial physical aggression towards our clients."

A Turning Point USA spokesperson confirmed that D'Almeida is still employed by the organization, but said Ellis was "now working elsewhere."

ASU continues pledge to protect faculty

ASU officials said Tuesday that they were “pleased with the Turning Point USA defendants’ admission of guilt in court in their respective roles in the harassment and injury inflicted on one of our instructors in October 2023.”

“Harassment or threatening behavior toward ASU employees will not be tolerated,” the university said in a statement.

University President Michael Crow asked Turning Point USA to remove his university's faculty from its "professor watchlist" in April 2023 after several faculty members received harassing emails and voicemails.

After the October incident, he called the D’Almeida and Ellis “cowards,” describing their behavior as “the kind of outrageous conduct that you would expect to see from bullies in a high school cafeteria." Crow pledged that he and other university officials would "do all that we can to end the bullying and intimidation of our faculty members by Turning Point USA."

Months later, ASU Provost Nancy Gonzales told The Arizona Republic that the university was developing additional training tailored to the incident.

Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet told The Republic on Tuesday that the organization was paying legal bills for D'Almeida and Ellis but wasn't a party to the case. Legal decisions were "left entirely to our reports and their counsel," Kolvet said.

"The fact is our reporters would not be permitted a jury trial for such a low level misdemeanor, but instead be subject to a bench decision from a judge, Tyler Kissell, who doesn't even have a law degree, was vice president of the ASU chapter of Young Democrats, ran for state Senate as a Democrat and whose recent work experience includes teaching pre-school," Kolvet said. "Given these realities, we entirely understand why they decided to pursue this route."

Scott Davis, spokesperson for the Maricopa County Justice Courts, said the charges against D'Almeida and Ellis were misdemeanor offenses that weren't eligible for a jury trial.

"At no time were the defendants denied the right to a jury trial," he said. "When the county attorney’s office reached an agreement with the defendants and filed a motion with the court to discontinue prosecution, Judge Kissell granted the motion and the court involvement ended."

Kolvet previously told The Republic that D'Almeida and Ellis did "absolutely nothing wrong." The organization promised to "vigorously defend them" and accused Crow of “lying” about the incident.

“The very clear video evidence documenting this incident will quickly prevail over ASU's gaslighting and the media's propaganda," Kolvet said in December. "Our team members will be vindicated."

Sasha Hupka covers county government and regional issues for The Arizona Republic. She previously reported on higher education in Arizona. Do you have a tip? Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SashaHupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Turning Point affiliates admit to harassing queer ASU professor