A group of white men calling themselves “Fearless Debates” went to an HBCU wearing “Make America Great Again” hats while carrying signs that read, "DEI should be illegal" and "deport all illegals now," had to be removed from the campus under police protection. 

Yahoo News reports that the random group of white men showed up at Tennessee State University in Nashville around 3 p.m. on Sept. 23. 

"They attempted to draw students into conversations centered on these messages, which were framed as debate but functioned as provocation," a Facebook post from the Nashville chapter of the NAACP read.

A separate post on TSU’s Facebook page said the group was not affiliated with the university and didn’t have approval to be on campus. Campus police and staff responded to the incident, and the trespassers were escorted off school grounds. 

"At all times, TSU students conducted themselves in a professional and respectful manner," the TSU statement read. "The safety and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff remain our highest priority. TSU will continue to uphold university policies and ensure that campus remains a safe, welcoming and orderly environment for all members of our community."

Yahoo News notes that social media accounts believed to belong to the group claim that they were inspired by right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk, who often held public debates around racially charged topics. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot during one of these events at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

Social media posts of the incident appear to show TSU students yelling at the trespassers. 

NAACP Nashville said it was "infuriated and alarmed" that historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, have been targeted by these types of groups with "rhetoric that echoes a long history of exclusion, racism, and systemic oppression." The chapter also warned other HBCUs, NAACP partners, and Black leaders to be prepared for more activity from groups like these. 

"This incident was not an isolated act of political expression — it was an intentional effort to antagonize, disrupt, and instill fear in a space created to be safe, affirming and supportive of Black students," the group said. "While we recognize and respect that free speech is a constitutional right, there is a clear and urgent distinction between constructive dialogue and rhetoric deliberately designed to provoke, demean, and endanger the psychological safety of students at HBCUs."