College Republicans state chair survives impeachment attempt

Danny Weldon alleged on Fox Business he was attacked in a Gainesville restaurant for wearing a MAGA hat.

Not enough support showed up to an impeachment trial to unseat the sitting chair for the Florida Federation of College Republicans.

That means Daniel Weldon will remain in his position with the state organization. But college chapters signaled they will defederate and resignations continue to mount.

Three sources say the event, held this weekend in the Orlando area, devolved into shouting and accusations. But even in advance of the trial, many wondered if enough members would arrive to pull off a coup. (Note: A previous version of this story said the event occurred in Miami)

As one of the sources put it, the prosecution failed to get enough people to care.

But the organization still suffers splinters in its leadership.

Three individuals — Executive Director Lindsey Dickerson, Second Vice-Chair Megan Springer and Secretary Jordan Foster — resigned from state positions with FFCR earlier this year in a mass shake-up. Dickerson later returned to a state-level post. But Court Culver has now resigned as Treasurer.

Now, sources say certain college chapters have started considering defederating, including major chapters at Florida State University and the University of Central Florida.

That’s after a controversial move on Weldon’s part to defederate the Florida International University’s College Republicans chapter through an executive order.

Weldon, in advance of the trial, faced accusations of favoritism, dishonesty and verbal abuse.

The most colorful concern people had involved an alleged altercation, where Weldon claimed to have been attacked over wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat in a restaurant.

The story garnered national attention from conservative news outlets, but the restaurant’s surveillance video didn’t match Weldon’s story.

He also was accused of pushing FFCR to name a close friend, Alex Abdul, as  Chief of Staff.

First Vice-Chair Sarah Gibson has remained in her position as well. But there remain leadership voids within the organization.

This weekend marked the first time in the organization’s history that the impeachment process was ever pursued against a state chair.

FFCR’s constitution allows impeachment charges to be brought by a petition with signatures of no less than two-thirds of state board members. It also allows the accused individual to respond to accusations in writing, which Weldon reportedly has done.

Weldon was suspended as state chair after the trial was called.

But you need three quarters of the state board to attend a trial for it to take place, and then a two-thirds vote on the part of the board at a trial to remove the chair.

Weldon’s trial, scheduled for Sept. 13 and 14, ultimately drew one less person than needed for the trial to move ahead. Members considered a different way of calculating membership, such as including regional directors, but there were also questions about whether enough chapters were represented at the trial.

The judge for proceedings would not entertain a suggestion to suspend the organization’s constitution altogether. Ultimately, the judge left proceedings, and the event broke down within minutes.

The disruption came at a peak organizing time for College Republican chapters statewide. The 2020 presidential election is drawing interest in political groups on campuses statewide, and Florida looks to once again be a battleground state.

Weldon notably landed in the news for another reason in the midst of impeachment efforts.

The University of Florida last month agreed to pay $66,000 to conservative students who claimed the school wrongly denied them access. That stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Young Americans for Freedom, with Weldon listed as one of the plaintiffs.