The New York State Young Republicans is the New York charter of the Young Republican National Federation, whose clubs are for Republicans aged 18 to 40.
The 2025 Telegram leak
On 14 October 2025 Politico published the contents of a Telegram group called “RESTOREYR WAR ROOM.” Peter Giunta, 31, the former chair of the New York State Young Republicans, said he had created the group to rally support for his campaign to chair the national federation. The chat ran to 2,900 pages of messages sent between early January and mid-August 2025 and included members of Young Republican organizations in several states.
Giunta had already resigned as state chair in late September 2025, amid allegations of financial mismanagement including unpaid bills for club events and missing required financial disclosures. Bobby Walker succeeded him. Another participant was Annie Kaykaty, a New York national committee member for the party. Following publication, participants came under pressure to resign from Republican organizations and some lost jobs with elected officials.
Relevance to digital political discourse
The episode documents a state party youth organization running its internal politics through an encrypted messaging app, and the consequences when that record surfaced. The organization’s public-facing presence is on Instagram and X; the coordination that produced the story happened on Telegram.
Sources
- 01.
Shamim, S. (2025). 'Gas them': How a leaked pro-Nazi young Republicans chat sparked GOP storm. Al Jazeera. Source for the 'RESTOREYR WAR ROOM' Telegram chat reported by Politico on 14 October 2025; its 2,900 pages of messages sent between early January and mid-August 2025; Peter Giunta, aged 31, as former NYSYR chair and creator of the group in support of his campaign for the national chairship; Bobby Walker succeeding him as chair after Giunta resigned in late September 2025 amid allegations of financial mismanagement including unpaid club bills and missing financial disclosures; Annie Kaykaty's participation; and the resignations and job losses that followed. Politico's own reporting could not be retrieved directly in this pass.
- 02.
Young Republican National Federation. About the YRs. Source for the federation's state charter structure and the 18-40 age range that defines membership of its state organizations.