Turning Point USA rep attacked by man with cane at Texas university; suspect faces assault charges
A Texas man wearing what appears to be a wizard hat was arrested after an assault at a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event on a college campus.
The incident occurred Tuesday at the University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler), where a man with long hair assaulted a TPUSA field representative and two students with a prop cane, according to Frontlines TPUSA.
Video of the incident showed the suspect — later identified as Ciro Tomlian — snatching an American flag before tossing it to the ground as he said, “Y’all don’t deserve this.”
When other students confronted him near the “Pick Up the Mic” event, Tomlian was seen in the video threatening to use his prop cane as a weapon, calling them “fascist pieces of s—” and making obscene gestures.
Tomlian then swung his cane at a person off-camera before a school official rushed in and broke up the fight. A UT Tyler police officer arrived, disarmed Tomlian and placed him in handcuffs, according to the video.
“I apologize, officer,” Tomlian was heard telling the officer as he was led away in handcuffs.
No injuries were reported.
UT Tyler confirmed that the man arrested in the incident is 19-year-old Ciro Stephen Tomlian. Smith County Jail records indicate that Tomlian was arrested by the University of Texas at Tyler Police Department on Wednesday. He has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of assault causing bodily injury.
In response to the arrest, UT Tyler President Dr. Julie V. Philley released a statement to students that read in part, “Everyone has the right to free speech, and violence will not be tolerated at this university.”
Tomlian was not enrolled at UT Tyler at the time of the incident.
An Instagram account using Tomlian's name and image shared a photo in February showing a man resembling Tomlian holding a sword in front of a transgender flag.
In a statement on X, Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, thanked police for their response, adding, “The First Amendment protects your right to speak, even to protest. It does not protect assaulting people you disagree with. Violence has no place on any campus, and it doesn’t represent East Texas.”
The attack occurred more than a year after TPUSA established a chapter at UT Tyler after the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in September 2025.
