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George Abaroni, deposed presidential election of oxford unionhas revealed he received “threats of violence” following controversy over comments he made celebrating the shooting of a US conservative activist. charlie kirk,
Mr. Abaraouni, who became president-elect of the historic debating society earlier this year, faced widespread criticism for comments he posted after Mr. Kirk was shot dead at a Utah Valley University event in September, an incident described by U.S. officials as a political assassination.
Mr Kirk, 31, was an aide to US President donald trump and co-founder and chief executive of the right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA.
The Times reported that Mr Abaraouni wrote “Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s f****** go” in a WhatsApp message to fellow students and posted “Charlie Kirk got shot” on his Instagram account.
Mr Abraoni subsequently apologized, telling The Times that he was “very sorry” for his comments and wanted to apologize directly to Mr Kirk’s family.
Speaking to LBC on Sunday, he accepted “fair criticism” of his comments, but also highlighted the “racist and classist vitriol” he faced as a black student at Oxford.
He said: “I received threats of violence. My family received threats, my friends received threats and it was a very difficult time, not only for me, but to realize that my mistake had not only affected my life, but could affect other people’s lives and even the wider communities around me.”
On Times Radio, Mr. Abraoni acknowledged that some of Mr. Kirk’s rhetoric perpetuates “harmful stereotypes about black people,” but argued that this made it even more important to engage him in open, public forums.
He added, “I disagreed with him. I thought his views were harmful. But he didn’t deserve to die. No one deserves to be the victim of political violence because of their views.”
A vote of no confidence in Mr Abaroni was passed in the Oxford Union last month. After the vote, he claimed that the voting had been “compromised” due to “unexpected” rules and alleged that campaigners seeking his removal had “uncontrolled access” to the email account collecting proxy votes.
The Oxford Union has since denied these claims, saying that the survey has not been compromised.