Tom Homan Confronts Heckler at TPUSA Event — 'Grow a Backbone,' Protester Links Rhetoric to El Paso Shooter

11:38 PM, 12/05/2025

Tom Homan, the White House border czar, confronted a heckler at a Turning Point USA event at UTEP after being called "racist." Homan challenged critics to "grow a backbone" and suggested they take direct action to secure the border. A protester later accused Homan's rhetoric of helping inspire Patrick Crusius, the 2019 El Paso shooter, whose manifesto cited the Great Replacement Theory. Homan has claimed the Biden administration left the border unsecured to build a Democratic voter bloc but has acknowledged he lacks evidence for that allegation.

Tom Homan Confronts Heckler at Turning Point USA Event

White House border czar Tom Homan erupted Thursday after an audience member at a Turning Point USA event on the University of Texas at El Paso campus shouted that he was a "racist" and a "traitor" while Homan was discussing immigration enforcement operations.

Homan replied directly to the heckler: "Call me what you want, I don't care." He then challenged critics to take more direct action, saying, "Why don't you grow a backbone, put a Kevlar vest and a gun on your hip and go secure this border?"

Accusations Linking Rhetoric to 2019 El Paso Attack

During a later question-and-answer exchange, a man who appeared to be the earlier heckler accused Homan and others of promoting rhetoric that inspired Patrick Crusius, the gunman who carried out the 2019 shooting at a Walmart in El Paso.

"Patrick Crusius, your everyday conservative, drove hundreds of miles to our city based on your belief that Hispanics are replacing the white race of White people, and we need a scare to deter Hispanics from coming into the country," the protester said, adding that he believes the "Great Replacement" narrative has entered the mainstream.

Homan responded that his criticism was focused on the consequences of what he called an "open border," describing the situation as "a mess" and asserting it was "by design." He has repeatedly alleged that the Biden administration intentionally left the southern border unsecured to build a new, permanent bloc of Democratic voters, but he acknowledged in congressional testimony that he does not have evidence to substantiate that claim.

Background: The El Paso Shooting

The 2019 El Paso attack left 23 people dead and 22 wounded. Patrick Crusius drove roughly 650 miles from Allen, Texas, to El Paso and published a manifesto that included White nationalist and anti-immigrant themes; the document referenced the Great Replacement Theory. Crusius pleaded guilty to multiple federal murder and hate crime charges in 2023 and received 90 consecutive life sentences; earlier this year he was given life without parole on related state charges.

This exchange at UTEP underscores the polarized debate over immigration enforcement and rhetoric surrounding the southern border, with critics tying inflammatory language to acts of violence and officials asserting concerns about border security and policy consequences.