Oxford Union Trust Secretary Resigns in Protest After President-Elect Glorifies Charlie Kirk Assassination

The Honorary Secretary of the Oxford Literary and Debating Union Trust (OLDUT), the charity that owns the Oxford Union’s buildings and oversees its charitable responsibilities, has resigned in protest, citing the callous behavior of the Oxford Union’s President-Elect following the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in the United States.

The Secretary declared he could no longer remain in his role as the Union’s charitable overseer while its incoming leadership celebrates political violence and trustees refuse to intervene.

After news broke that Kirk had been shot, Oxford Union President-elect George Abaraonye allegedly wrote on Telegram, “Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s f*ing go,” according to The Telegraph.

The now-former Honorary Secretary did not mince words in his resignation letter, describing the President-Elect’s behavior as psychopathic and beyond shame, accusing him of glorifying political assassination and using the Union’s platform to enhance his personal brand through reckless attacks on institutions.

He warned that the Oxford Union is no longer experiencing isolated scandals but a paradigm shift, a weaponization of the Union itself against free speech, open debate, and Western democratic values.

The resigning officer, who also appears regularly in the media, cited concerns for his family’s safety after the President-Elect’s rhetoric, noting that his wife fears they may face violence as a result.

The letter reads:

“I write to you today regarding the behaviour of the Oxford Union’s President-Elect regarding the evil assassination of Charlie Kirk in the United States.

I am afraid that I do not see this as just another scandal that we need to encourage the Union to handle. I see this as existential. OLDUT’s delegate is about to be run by someone who gloried in the political assassination of a man whom he had debated in the Oxford Union chamber just months ago.

And instead of apologising, the President-Elect has doubled down, listing all the reasons why Mr Kirk was a terrible person with views so abhorrent that his murder was merely

‘ironic’. This is a psychopathic response from someone who has no intention of/or perhaps ability to, feel shame.

He will, like many recent Presidents, deliberately traduce and ruin the reputation of the Oxford Union to enhance his personal brand, one that involves attacking institutions like the one we are supposed to protect. This is actively different to the scandals of previous generations; then scandal was a bug or side effect. Now, it is the whole point. Mr Abaraonye will not be the last to try this.

This cannot be business as usual, and trustees need to understand the fundamental paradigm shift that has happened in the Union, the university, and the country. These people do not care about the Union; they never will. They do not care about free expression or open debate; they merely wear our precious freedoms as a costume until they can use them to attack that which is sacred to us. As it appears OLDUT is unwilling to act, I cannot in good conscience remain as the honorary secretary.

This is also personal to me; in a much smaller way I appear in the media talking about politics, and I already have a wife who is concerned that she or I will suffer violence as a result. I thereby resign as the Honorary Secretary of the Oxford Literary and Debating Union Trust. I hope this helps spur the wonderful trustees to realise the dangers we face.

I am so sorry to leave you in the lurch, and will of course hand over all of the various physical and digital documents, and conduct whatever handovers are necessary in good faith and to the best of my ability.

I will finish with the words of the President-Elect, whom it seems advocated for violent retaliation in our very chamber, feet away from where he had debated Charlie Kirk. This is the measure of the man we are not going to prevent from becoming President.

“At times, there is simply nothing else that can be required except for violent retaliation.

And this is a view I wholeheartedly agree with; the view that some institutions are too broken, too oppressive to be reformed, like cancers of our society. And they must, and they should be taken down by any means necessary.””

English Conservative politician and a member of the House of Lords, Lord Moyland, also weighed in, stating, I’m an old President of the Oxford Union and I think he should resign now.”

The Oxford Union has since issued a statement condemning the remarks made by the president-elect.

“The Oxford Union would like to unequivocally condemn the reported words and sentiments expressed by the President-Elect, George Abaraonye, with regards to the passing of Charlie Kirk.

His reported views do not represent the Oxford Union’s current leadership or committee’s view. The current administration has, under President Moosa Harraj, no association with, and is entirely independent from, Mr Abaraonye’s administration.

In alignment with the statement published by our Society earlier today, we reaffirm our stance that the Oxford Union firmly opposes all forms of political violence and strongly stands by our commitment to free speech and considerate debate.

We would like to reiterate that our condolences lie with Charlie Kirk’s family, especially his wife and young children, who are enduring such terrible grief.”

However, Oxford University has confirmed that it will not be taking any action against George Abaraonye.

“Though Mr Abaraonye’s comments are abhorrent, they do not contravene the College’s policies on free speech, or any other relevant policy. Therefore, no disciplinary action will be taken.”

Here’s a clip of George Abaraonye, the incoming president of the Oxford Union, openly promoting political violence.

Here’s a video of Abaraonye debating Charlie Kirk on “toxic masculinity” at the Oxford Union in May while just wearing joggers, slippers and a t-shirt.