Pro-Trump group calls for a protest at US Capitol during Mueller's testimony at event held at Trump's DC hotel
- Turning Point USA on Tuesday night called on teenage attendees of its conference in Washington, DC, to plan on marching to the US Capitol on Wednesday morning to protest during former special counsel Robert Mueller's testimony to Congress.
- Mueller is set to testify before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees on Wednesday.
- During an event at the president's hotel in the nation's capital, Kirk said since "the left" protested during Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing, it was time for conservatives to do the same during Mueller's testimony.
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WASHINGTON - Charlie Kirk, the founder and president of the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA (TPUSA), on Tuesday night called on over a thousand young conservatives to march to the US Capitol to protest during former special counsel Robert Mueller's testimony.
Kirk said since "the left" protested during Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing, it was time for conservatives to do the same during Mueller's testimony.
His call for a demonstration during Mueller's testimony came during TPUSA's "Liberty Gala" at Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, which was part of the group's Teen Student Action Summit (TSAS) in the capital this week.
The audience broke out into cheers of "U-S-A" after Kirk's announcement as he told them to "get ready to walk" and "get the word out."
A TPUSA spokesperson declined to offer further details on its plan regarding Mueller's testimony on Wednesday when contacted by INSIDER, it and would not say if scheduled speakers like Donald Trump Jr. would participate in the demonstrations.
TPUSA has emerged as one of the most prominent conservative groups in the US during the Trump era - and Kirk, 25, has been at the center of it all.
At the start of a roughly 80-minute speech at the TPUSA conference on Tuesday, President Donald Trump expressed astonishment at the level of influence Kirk has at such a young age.
During his speech, Trump also reiterated his characterization of Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference as a "witch hunt."
"I saw Mueller is set to testify again. How many times? Two and a half years. And actually, it started practically from the time I came down on the escalator they said you know, he's got good numbers," Trump said on Tuesday. "We better start looking at him right away, maybe he's dealing with a foreign country."
Mueller, as special counsel, was tasked with investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, potential coordination between the Russians and Trump's 2016 campaign, and potential obstruction of justice. After nearly 22 months, Mueller completed his report, the redacted version of which was released in April. Mueller's report concluded that there was not enough evidence of a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. However, Mueller did not reach a "traditional prosecutorial" judgement on obstruction of justice. Wednesday will be his first time appearing publicly before these committees on this topic.
Though Trump has sought to present Mueller's findings as vindicating, the former special council's report explicitly stated he did not exonerate the president.
Wednesday will be his first time appearing publicly before these committees on this topic.
TPUSA's big focus is defending free speech, as it contends conservatives face rampant discrimination in terms of expressing their views - particularly on college campuses.
As TPUSA has grown in influence, it has not been without controversy. The group has faced allegations of racial bias along with criticism of its "Professor Watchlist," among other issues.
The mission of Professor Watchlist is to expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom," the project states on its website.
Kirk in an interview with INSIDER last December defended the project and said its purpose is "exposure" and "more speech."