Junior Finley Thomas went through the process to restart the Turning Point USA club at Park City High a year ago. The club advocates for conservative activism and traditional values.
His mom, Summer Thomas, didn’t know what he was planning.
“We didn't, as parents, realize that he had signed up until the boxes of constitutions and the Bill of Rights and that sort of thing arrived on our front door,” she said.
And she and her husband didn’t want their son to bring back the Turning Point club.
That’s because the conservative student group previously faced backlash. In 2019, a Park City High student admitted to discharging pepper spray in a school lecture hall to disrupt a Turning Point meeting.
The group had invited Will Witt to speak. Witt is a speaker, author and political commentator who at the time worked for the conservative video site “PragerU.”
“My concern as a parent was one, obviously safety, but I was concerned about retribution towards him and towards other members of the club,” Summer Thomas said.
After Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September at Utah Valley University, Finley Thomas pushed his parents to let him start the club.
He had originally planned to go to Kirk’s rally, and took the conservative influencer’s death hard.
“The things that I heard people saying were just like, I was blown away,” he said. “I was like, ‘That's not right.’ I don't know how people can say that about another human.”
Summer Thomas and her husband finally changed their minds about their son revitalizing the club after attending a sermon at Mountain Life Church.
"The pastor the Sunday after Charlie Kirk was assassinated really gave a pretty strong message on not being fearful,” she said. “So we sat down as a family and discussed that if this is something you want to do, we want to support you.”
So far, the club hasn’t faced any backlash. Summer Thomas spoke with Park City High Principal Caleb Fine and said he was very supportive.
Finley Thomas said he was worried he wouldn’t be able to find a teacher to sponsor the club. But math teacher Eric Janes — who previously advised the group — was excited to be involved again.
The around 50 club members hope to share their beliefs and teach others how to discuss controversial topics in a respectful manner.
“I want to do my part at Park City High School … and try and get people to think of the other side of the political spectrum as like humans again, and not just their enemies,” Finley Thomas said.
The club also wants to give back to the community. Last weekend, members raised money to put U.S. flags on local veteran graves for Veterans Day Nov. 11.
Finley Thomas said the group raised more than expected and will also help fund local involvement in National Wreaths Across America Day on Dec. 13.
