LTHS Conservative Leader Repudiates Fuentes

LA GRANGE, IL — Leslie Mendoza, a senior at Lyons Township High School, has become the face of conservatism on campus.

She has been pushing the school to officially recognize the group she leads, the local chapter of Turning Point USA. But the school has declined to do so.

She has spoken to the school board at least twice in the last few months. And the national Turning Point group has recognized her efforts.

Her politics are conservative. She makes clear on Twitter her feelings about a well-known alumnus of Lyons Township High student — Nicholas Fuentes, a former student body president and a 2016 graduate. Fuentes is also a fan of former President Donald Trump and an admitted racist.

In late August, Mendoza retweeted a message from a Turning Point official that stated, "The alt right is not conservative. Nick Fuentes is not conservative. The KKK is not conservative. Do not compare conservatives to these people. We are NOT the same."

Fuentes first gained national publicity during the United the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a woman was killed by a neo-Nazi. At the time, Fuentes wrote on social media that "a tidal wave of white identity is coming." And he promised once the word gets out, "they will not be able to stop us."

Earlier this year, Fuentes said on his podcast that former President Donald Trump was "awesome" because he was racist and sexist. But he lamented that Trump was not antisemitic, adding "people have got to get racist."

Fuentes was at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, but there is no evidence he entered the building.

"I am unapologetic. I thought the Capitol (riot) was awesome; it was awesome! And so was Trump," Fuentes said.

Turning Point's founder, Charlie Kirk, has rejected Fuentes. Turning Point is on 2,500 campuses around the United States.