Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen says the state will work with a national conservative organization long headlined by slain activist Charlie Kirk to establish a conservative-leaning political club for students in every Nebraska high school.

Pillen took no questions during what he called “a pep rally for freedom,” and Turning Point USA offered few details about what the partnership entails or the logistics of getting a “Club America” into every high school. Nebraska joins the Republican-led states of Texas, Montana, Indiana, Oklahoma and Florida in similar partnerships with the organization now led by Kirk’s widow, Erika.

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“I don’t see anything political about that,” Pillen said, referring to Charlie Kirk. “I see it as right and wrong, God and Satan.”

Pillen said “Club America” can help young people learn more about the U.S. Constitution, develop leadership skills and boost civic engagement.

“I hope that these young people here today inspire all of us to … say ‘we can have a good debate, we can talk, we can work through it,’” Pillen said.

Charlie Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012. The organization has been credited with mobilizing younger voters to support President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. He was known for visiting and engaging in public debates with political opponents on college campuses. Kirk was killed last year while speaking on a college campus in Utah.

His death prompted vigils in the state and across the country — including one where Pillen spoke at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The late conservative activist visited Nebraska in 2024 to push for a special session to shift the state to awarding all five of its Electoral College votes for president to the statewide winner of the popular vote, an approach known to many as winner-take-all.

The group says its “Club America” high school chapters aim to “build strong networks, spearhead impactful initiatives, help students register to vote and inspire meaningful conversations about the foundations of a free society,” according to the group’s website.

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Turning Point typically organizes on college campuses. Conservatives at some of the state’s largest schools in Lincoln and Omaha have said they plan to make sharper efforts to connect with young people. There are six college chapters in the state, the group’s website says. There are already roughly 28 Club America chapters at high schools in the state, it says.

The state has more than 250 public schools. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who attended Pillen’s announcement on Tuesday, said a partnership like this is the “antidote to political discord.”

“Young people … are approaching issues not with violence and not with hate and not with yelling or disruption,” Hilgers said. “They’re approaching it based on love and joy and courage in talking about the things that they believe in.”

Tim Royers, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, said the union supports students’ constitutional rights to form non-curriculum-related clubs, but there’s a difference when the push comes from the Governor’s Office. Royers said decisions about student activities should be made at the local level.

“Public schools must remain politically neutral environments,” Royers said. “Educators and school leaders have a responsibility to ensure that no political organization is perceived as endorsed by the state or embedded within public school systems in a way that compromises that neutrality.”

Teachers’ unions in Nebraska and other states have faced criticism from some conservatives for political speech by some members.

Among Turning Point’s best-known projects was the “Professor Watchlist,” which published the names of college professors in a searchable format by categories including “anti-Christian views,” “feminism,” “climate alarmist,” and “racial ideology.”

A handful of people protested the announcement from outside the mansion.

Nick Cocca, TPUSA Club America Enterprise Director, said it was great that students who are interested in Turning Point know “state leaders have their back.” Cocca provided no specifics on how the state plans to enforce the panthership but said the group typically relies on interested students to initiate the club chapters, while Turning Point provides organizational support.

Cocca said Pillen — like governors in other states — reached out seeking the partnership.