As it turns out, one of the leaders who led a group of Vanderbilt University students in a sit-in this week to support Hamas was a longtime Democratic Party activist with White House connections.
Jack Petocz, a Florida native, is one of the three students who were arrested by campus security after an incident. He was charged with assaulting a guard. The university also suspended one student and placed 22 others on probation. Petocz wrote a rambling and bigoted Twitter/X post about his expulsion. He claimed that he had been expelled for “the ultimate crime” of caring when 33,000 people were murdered.
The security footage shows that the crowd shoved a guard when they tried to force their way in.
vanderbilt kid claims he was engaged in ‘peaceful’ protest. here’s footage of these ‘peaceful protesters’ assaulting a security guard
expulsion is not enough. all involved should be in prison. video: @campusreform https://t.co/y0jPNAsbw1 pic.twitter.com/ghHhcI7EwA
— Gregg Re (@gregg_re) April 6, 2024
Petocz claims that he wasn’t one of those people who pushed the guard in the video and was nowhere near.
He has been a semi-professional activist for many years. The timeline of his evolution is instructive and interesting when comparing it to the various astroturf demonstrations across the country.
In 2020, Jack became irritated when a member of the local school board “recklessly tweeted COVID misinformation”, just after his family was infected. He became so angry that he launched the Recall Flagler County school board movement. However, he quickly shifted his focus to advancing radical agendas.
Petocz began holding protests in the fall of 2021 against “two local school boards’ attempts to ban books from school libraries.” He also spoke at school board meetings regularly, bringing national politics deliberately into the mix. This activism led him to be included in an article published by the New York Times on January 20, 2022, about the “new tactics” conservative and reactionary groups use to pressure school board members, such as using social media to spread the word, politicizing the issues, and focusing almost exclusively on books with LGBTQ or antiracist themes.
The (manufactured), hubbub about Gov. Petocz jumped into the fray when Ron DeSantis’ alleged ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill erupted. Around 30 schools took part, according to an NBC News interview with Petocz. Petocz was suspended from Flagler Palm Coast High School on March 5, 2022 (the day of the walkout), and was escorted out by school security. NBC News reported that Petocz claimed he had been punished for distributing 200 flags at the rally, despite being told not to by his principal. He then claimed the suspension was because of homophobia and racism.
Gay Petocz said, “I think this attempt to remove me from campus and threaten me is riddled with homophobia and racism.” “You are silencing a student who is standing up for his rights and what he believes, and you discipline him for questioning you about the use of pride flags at a gay rally, it’s ridiculous.”
He added, “I think they were just upset that I organized this in the first place and used this as a stumbling block to remove me from campus.”
Petocz also told the local ABC affiliate that school administrators had permitted him to hold the rally.
Petocz was eventually convicted of a level 3 infraction “which is the highest level of discipline in Flagler County School district” and was permanently barred from running for Senior Class President.
He was a national celebrity, but it wasn’t because of his fame.
Petocz has received several awards for his activism. One of them is the PEN/Benenson Courage Award 2022 from PEN America. This group advocates free speech.
In June 2022, he was also honored with the 2022 Now Award by “Them”, a magazine that focuses on youth activism. He was also featured in Teen Vogue.
Petocz, who was featured in Teen Vogue a few days later, went to Washington, DC, where he met with Joe Biden and attended the signing ceremony of Biden’s Executive Order on Advancing the Equality of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex Individuals. He also took pictures with Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Pete Buttigieg, among others.
Two years ago to the day, I testified for the first time in a local school board meeting.
Yesterday, I met with the President of the United States and watched as he signed an exec order protecting LGBTQ+ students across the nation.
Truly an unbelievable experience. pic.twitter.com/uS1UgLl6lO
— Jack Petocz (@Jack_Petocz) June 16, 2022
Petocz was then hired as a mobilization manager by Gen Z for Change. This radical progressive group is a part of the Millennial Generation. He worked with Gen Z for Change to try to defeat DeSantis during the 2022 elections, and then completed his high school education before attending Vanderbilt University in 2023.
Hi! My name is Jack Petocz, I’m the 17-year-old student activist who led nationwide walkouts against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Through being kicked out of school, harassed in public and doxxed, this moment was truly special to me. I’ll keep fighting ❤️ pic.twitter.com/DGksCMTWHS
— Jack Petocz (@Jack_Petocz) July 13, 2022
He visited the White House several more times.
I can’t even articulate how much it meant as an LGBTQ+ Floridian to hear the Vice President condemn DeSantis’ bigoted actions tonight.
Thank you, @VP, for all that you do for our community. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/42QmTQTXVt
— Jack Petocz (@Jack_Petocz) June 29, 2023
Never did I think that the little gay kid from a small town in Florida would be invited to the White House for this historic day.
The Respect for Marriage Act has been signed into law! Thank you, @POTUS. 🏳️🌈 🥲 pic.twitter.com/sehJ80IMH8
— Jack Petocz (@Jack_Petocz) December 13, 2022
Petocz has, of course, kept up his activism. Petocz, according to his Twitter/X screeds, has been involved with Vanderbilt Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voices for Peace chapters.
The administration has been suppressing student voices that support Palestine for months.
Hyper-surveillance and discrimination against our SJP- and JVP chapters, as well as the cancellation of a student-led vote to divert Vanderbilt Student Government funding from mass slaughter, are all part of this.
It’s fascinating that this gay man “fights for Palestine.” Jack may not be aware of Hamas’s stance on homosexuality or he might think that Hamas would treat him differently from how they treat Palestinian gays.
SJP is being investigated for its ties to terrorism in Florida and Virginia. Hatem Bazian founded it at Berkeley in 2001. He “quickly understood that open identification with Brotherhood prevented large scale recruitment”, so he “established[ed] SJP [as] an ostensible progress organization, whose Agenda, coincidentally, was almost identical to that the Brotherhood.” Bazian, a former chair of American Muslims for Palestine (another Muslim Brotherhood group), “provides financial support for SJP Chapters and shares personnel with Hamas Fronts.”
Students like Petocz are just useful idiots. Or, do they have a hand in Hamas’ attacks? It’s time for us to get rid of all these terrorist fronts on our campuses, as well as the students who support them.