--- title: Boston University Student Quits After Charlottesville Rally description: An 18-year-old who participated in the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville said is leaving Boston University after receiving threats canonical: https://time.com/4905939/nicholas-fuentes-white-supremacist-rally-charlottesville/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-17T22:58:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:29:41.233Z article:section: Politics og:title: Student Who Attended White Supremacist Rally Leaves Boston University og:description: "Probably anywhere I would go would be safer than Boston" og:url: https://time.com/4905939/nicholas-fuentes-white-supremacist-rally-charlottesville/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a915201e45ba3f8/6988da3ccf40a89b0fc49077/nicholas-fuentes-boston-university.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5621 og:image:height: 3162 og:image:alt: Charlottesville Protest Boston Student og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Student Who Attended White Supremacist Rally Leaves Boston University twitter:description: "Probably anywhere I would go would be safer than Boston" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a915201e45ba3f8/6988da3ccf40a89b0fc49077/nicholas-fuentes-boston-university.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 00:56 video:published: 2017-08-17 section: politics topics: white supremacist rally, Charlottesville, college student backlash, death threats, campus safety, political climate, online hostility, demographic change claims genre: interview, news tones: defensive, aggrieved, measured, self-justifying emotions: anger (medium), fear (medium), defensiveness (high), grievance (medium) sentiment: negative audience: news readers, students, policy observers, political activists people: unnamed 18-year-old student organizations: Boston University content_suitability: hate [00:22-00:56]; politics [00:45-01:06]; threats [00:00-00:22] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Student Who Attended Charlottesville White Supremacist Rally Leaves Boston University After Backlash > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=dc63d244-7387-4a0a-89ad-5a93f19415d2&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Student Who Attended Charlottesville White Supremacist Rally Leaves Boston University After Backlash [Watch (HLS stream): Student Who Attended Charlottesville White Supremacist Rally Leaves Boston University After Backlash](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Xo6HDTcR.m3u8) (0:56)  _Published 2017-08-17. An 18-year-old who participated in the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., said he has chosen to leave Boston University after receiving threats because of his beliefs._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary An 18-year-old who attended the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville says he is leaving Boston University for his sophomore year after receiving death threats and threats to his physical safety. He describes the threats as a liability to his brand and academic success, and says he feels he is the target of hatred from people he has never met. He says he hates no one and states that he went to Charlottesville to show solidarity for a cause he believes the mainstream media ignores. ## Key points - The speaker was supposed to enter Boston University for his sophomore year but decided not to because of recent death threats and threats against his physical safety. (00:00) - He says the death threats have become a liability to his brand, his academic success and his safety, since people may gang up on him. (00:09) - He says he is disturbed by the level of hate people have expressed toward someone they have never met or spoken with. (00:22) - He says he receives messages daily from strangers calling him a terrible person. (00:36) - He states that he hates no one and would never do anything like what people accuse him of. (00:42) - He says he finds the current political climate somewhat upsetting. (00:45) - He says he went to Charlottesville over the weekend to demonstrate and show solidarity for a cause he believes is not covered in mainstream media. (00:50) - He says the cause is the fundamental transformation of the composition of the country, which he claims the American people never had a vote on. (01:01) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:22] Leaving Boston University After Threats. The speaker explains that threats led him to give up his planned return to Boston University and describes the costs of the threats to his brand and studies. - [00:22 to 00:45] Reaction to Online Hostility. The speaker describes the hostility he receives from strangers and insists he hates no one. - [00:45 to 00:56] Reasons for Attending the Rally. The speaker says he went to Charlottesville to show solidarity for a cause he feels is ignored by mainstream media. ## Key quotes - [00:09] Student: "When you start receiving death threats to the extent that I have, it just becomes a liability to my brand." - [00:22] Student: "It's disturbing to me the level of hate that people have been able to express and been able to feel against someone they've never met, never saw, never had a conversation with." - [00:42] Student: "There's no hate on this side. I hate no one." - [01:01] Student: "the American people never got a vote on, and that is the fundamental transformation of the composition of our country." ## Questions this video answers - Why is the student leaving Boston University? [00:00] - Why does the student say the threats are a problem for him? [00:09] - How does the student describe the hostility he receives from others? [00:22] - Does the student say he holds any hostility toward others? [00:42] - Why did the student go to Charlottesville? [00:50] - What cause does the student say he was demonstrating for? [01:01] ## Content suitability - hate [00:22-00:56]: Speaker discusses hate directed at him and defends attendance at a white supremacist rally, with the rally's ideology implied by the title and the speaker's stated cause. - politics [00:45-01:06]: Speaker makes claims about national demographic change and voting, a contested political subject. - threats [00:00-00:22]: Speaker describes receiving death threats and threats to his physical safety.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Aug 17, 2017 10:58 PM UTC An 18-year-old who participated in the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., said he has chosen to leave Boston University after receiving threats because of his beliefs.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Aug 17, 2017 10:58 PM UTC An 18-year-old who participated in the white supremacist [rally in Charlottesville, Va.](http://time.com/4904270/will-nation-succeed-after-charlottesville/), said he has [chosen to leave Boston University](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/15/citing-death-threats-year-old-who-attended-violent-rally-won-return/CJU7GioWLClGjIHZ2YqshM/story.html) after receiving threats because of his beliefs. “Massachusetts, and Boston in particular, are among the most left wing states and cities,” Nicholas Fuentes [told the Boston _Globe_](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/15/citing-death-threats-year-old-who-attended-violent-rally-won-return/CJU7GioWLClGjIHZ2YqshM/story.html) on Tuesday, describing the campus and city as “very dangerous.” Fuentes said that he has received 15 death threats via email and social media in the past week. “Probably anywhere I would go would be safer than Boston,” said Fuentes, a supporter of President Donald Trump who runs his own political YouTube channel. One [woman was killed](http://time.com/4904099/charlottesville-heather-heyer-mother-speech/) and many were injured when a man believed to be a white supremacist drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville on Saturday. Fuentes told the _Globe_ he had attended the rally to protest immigration and multiculturalism, but said he was not a white nationalist or racist. “The rally was about not replacing white people,” he said. Boston University President Robert Brown on Thursday condemned the Charlottesville violence ahead of a “free speech” rally set to take place in Boston on Saturday. Some [right-wing extremists are slated to speak at the rally](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/17/speakers-list-for-boston-free-speech-rally-include-right-wing-extremist/6xWnzHZwrjq8svoRbPN1NP/story.html), and Boston leaders have spoken out against hate and violence in advance. “Palpably evil acts, such as occurred in Charlottesville, invite the challenging question about what is and is not tolerable or morally acceptable in speech and accompanying deeds,” Brown said in a [letter to the university community](http://www.bu.edu/today/2017/bu-president-responds-to-charlottesville-violence/?utm%5Fsource=social&utm%5Fmedium=TWITTER&utm%5Fcampaign=prbumain). “It is clear to me, and I believe it a view that is broadly shared in our community, that a claim of inherent racial or ethnic superiority is abhorrent. We must, I believe, explicitly denounce white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups that make such claims.” ## Transcript [00:00] I was supposed to be entering Boston University for my [00:03] sophomore year, but in response to recent death [00:06] threats and threats against my physical safety, I [00:09] decided that that might not be the best idea When you [00:12] start receiving death threats to the extent that I have, it [00:15] just becomes a liability to my brand. To my academic [00:19] success and everything else when you do have to worry [00:22] about people ganging up on you or whatever. It's [00:25] disturbing to me the level of hate that people have [00:27] been able to express and been able to feel against [00:30] someone they've never met, never saw, never had a [00:33] conversation with. They say that we're the hateful ones, [00:36] we're the bigots. And I get messages all day long from [00:39] people I've never met telling what I terrible person I [00:42] am. There's no hate on this side. I hate no one. I would [00:45] never do anything like that. I think it's a little bit [00:48] upsetting that the political climate is the way it is. The [00:50] reason for going down to Charlottesville over the [00:53] weekend was to demonstrate It was to show solidarity [00:58] for a cause which has not been talked about in the [01:01] mainstream media, which the American people never [01:03] got a vote on, and that is the fundamental [01:06] transformation of the composition of our country. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4905939/nicholas-fuentes-white-supremacist-rally-charlottesville/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4905939/nicholas-fuentes-white-supremacist-rally-charlottesville/"},"headline":"Student Who Attended Charlottesville White Supremacist Rally Leaves Boston University After Backlash","datePublished":"2017-08-17T22:58:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-08T09:29:41.233Z","description":"\"Probably anywhere I would go would be safer than Boston\"","url":"https://time.com/4905939/nicholas-fuentes-white-supremacist-rally-charlottesville/","keywords":["Charlottesville","Education","College","Virginia","Massachusetts","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a915201e45ba3f8/6988da3ccf40a89b0fc49077/nicholas-fuentes-boston-university.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a915201e45ba3f8/6988da3ccf40a89b0fc49077/nicholas-fuentes-boston-university.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Charlottesville Protest Boston Student","caption":"Charlottesville Protest Boston Student","creditText":"Teresa Crawford—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/charlottesville/","name":"Charlottesville"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4905939/nicholas-fuentes-white-supremacist-rally-charlottesville/","name":"Student Who Attended Charlottesville White Supremacist Rally Leaves Boston University After Backlash"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Student Who Attended Charlottesville White Supremacist Rally Leaves Boston University After Backlash","description":"An 18-year-old who participated in the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., said he has chosen to leave Boston University after receiving threats because of his beliefs.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Xo6HDTcR/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-08-17T23:42:37.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Xo6HDTcR.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4905939/nicholas-fuentes-white-supremacist-rally-charlottesville/","duration":"PT56S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4905939/nicholas-fuentes-white-supremacist-rally-charlottesville/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```