Midwest student filmed screaming 'Go back to your own country' was hurling insult at white man from Russia who's notorious for hurling sexist insults

Read the original at Daily Mail ↗
Cite

Anderson, N. (2026, October 20). Midwest student filmed screaming 'Go back to your own country' was hurling insult at white man from Russia who's notorious for hurling sexist insults. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16223361/minnesota-student-russian-protester-turning-point.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-20 · by Natasha Anderson

Quick Summary

A University of Saint Thomas nursing student was filmed shouting “go back to your own country” at a man with a megaphone outside a Turning Point USA event on the University of Minnesota campus last Wednesday. The man, identified as Derek Torstenson, is a leftwing activist known for his provocative and vulgar behavior, including using sexist language. While the student faced widespread criticism online, footage showed that Torstenson had been verbally attacking attendees with offensive language before her comment. The university acknowledged the incident without naming the involved student, promising to address it according to their code of conduct.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-20, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

A University of Saint Thomas nursing student was filmed last Wednesday outside a Turning Point USA event on the University of Minnesota campus, shouting "Go back to your own country, b**!" at a protester with a megaphone. The protester, identified as Derek Torstenson, had previously been seen shouting and holding a sign saying 'CT.' Two male students accompanying her smiled and laughed during the incident; she noticed she was being recorded and asked why. After the video went viral, the student faced online criticism for racism and hate speech, while Torstenson remained relatively unscathed despite his own provocative behavior earlier at the event. The university pledged to address the incident according to its code of conduct and said it would continue supporting a respectful community environment.

Written for “Midwest University Racism Incident” on 2026-10-20, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence medium
Leaning: leans left for article 93625 (medium confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-20

Story

📰 Midwest University Racism Incident
Education · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 29% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 19% hedged 5 of 26 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe the same incident involving a student shouting 'Go back to your own country' outside a Turning Point USA event featuring Riley Gaines on the University of Minnesota campus, with additional context about the target being a provocateur from Russia.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
29%
8 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
64/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Education
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 6479 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Natasha Anderson
28 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The university also pledged to address the incident 'in accordance with the student code of conduct' and said it 'will continue providing support and working to build a university community that respects the dignity of each person.' But while the aspiring nurse was attacked online, Torstenson left the encounter rather unscathed.
🔮 'Cole was an incredible kid and could put a smile on anyone's face,' Chris Adrian told The New York Times.
🔮 The activist, whose own social media profiles are private, has since removed B from the roster. But B fears the damage has already been done, telling the magazine: 'Who's to say how many people scrolled through that list quickly, saw my name, and even if this gets a public correction in the media - which I'm not sure it ever will - how many people will even see it? '
🔮 The alleged would-be murderer blamed losing her job and mental health issues for her behavior, investigators said.
🔮 'On Monday night, it was our understanding that Christa was brain dead, and that life support would be removed the next day,' her lawyer Randy Spivey said.
🔮 During their drive, Ellington said she would kill AD and her younger sister, identified as ZD, 'before the people that were following them did.
🔮 Christa Pike, 50, woke up Tuesday and reportedly has no memory of the execution attempt Pike received two supposedly lethal doses of the drug pentobarbital at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee, last Wednesday Zivot, who was retained by Pike's lawyers as a medical expert ahead of her execution, previously said it is unlikely that Pike would recover from the injection.
🔮 A new filing by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Robinson states that McCollum allegedly turned up to their children's school knowing Ragen would be there.
🔮 Asked if there were any fears or indicators that Cibelle, of Houston in Texas, would erupt in violence, Rainwater said: 'Absolutely not.
🔮 Court papers exclusively obtained by the Daily Mail showed that Cibelle Savella, 35, was told on Tuesday morning that she could only spend time with daughter Vivian under the supervision of Guardians of Hope.
Also by Natasha Anderson
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 28 articles by Natasha Anderson →

Topics

America Russia Turning Point USA University of Minnesota University of Saint Thomas

Subjects

Torstenson PERSON · 7× Turning Point USA ORG · 3× University of Minnesota ORG · 3× Darnell Edwards PERSON · 2× Derek Torstenson PERSON · 2× Grage PERSON · 2× Russia GPE · 2× University of Saint Thomas ORG · 2× America GPE · 1× Riley Gaines PERSON · 1×

Narrative

The university also pledged to address the incident 'in accordance with the student code of conduct' and said it 'will continue providing support and working to build a university community that respects the dignity of each person.' But while the aspiring nurse was attacked online, Torstenson left the encounter rather unscathed.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-20
🔮 The university also pledged to address the incident 'in accordance with the student code of conduct' and said it 'will continue providing support and working to build a university community that respects the dignity of each person.' But while the aspiring nurse was attacked online, Torstenson left the encounter rather unscathed.

Claims (28 extracted, 8 hedged)

A nursing student filmed screaming 'go back to your own country' shouted the insult at a white provocateur from Russia who was hurling vulgar insults, it has emerged. asserted
it → film → insults
The now-viral video was taken last Wednesday outside a Turning Point USA event on the University of Minnesota campus that featured activist and former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines. asserted
that → take → Gaines
A University of Saint Thomas nursing student, as she walked into the event, was filmed shouting 'Go back to your own country, b****!' at a man with a megaphone who was protesting the event. asserted
who → walk → event
Two male students appeared to smile and laugh at her statement before the female student noticed that another protester was taking a video and asked: 'Why are you recording me?' asserted
you → appear → me
The protester, since identified as leftwing activist Derek Torstenson, yelled back, 'Look at these fat, white trash weirdos who hate America.' asserted
who → identify → America
The video went viral and the nursing student was met with a slew of criticism online, including accusations of being 'racist' and using 'hateful language.' asserted
student → go → language
But other footage from the event unearthed by Alpha News showed that Torstenson had been shouting at attendees and waving a sign that said 'C**T' before the woman made the comment. asserted
woman → unearth → comment
Torstenson, who was adopted from Moscow and reportedly has a 'strong accent,' regularly frequents protests in the Twin Cities and is known for his expletive-filled confrontations, the outlet reported. uncertain
outlet → adopt → confrontations
Leftwing activist Derek Torstenson, who was adopted from Russia, has been identified as the protester who a nursing student yelled 'go back to your own country' to last Wednesday outside a Turning Point USA event on the University of Minnesota campus asserted
student → adopt → campus
The University of Saint Thomas nursing student went viral after she was caught on camera shouting at Torstenson Video of the student's remark, shared online by male model Darnell Edwards, received more than 10 million views and thousands of angry comments. asserted
Video → go → comments
The University of Saint Thomas released a statement confirming the student attended the school but did not name her, citing 'student privacy laws.' asserted
student → release → laws
The university also pledged to address the incident 'in accordance with the student code of conduct' and said it 'will continue providing support and working to build a university community that respects the dignity of each person.' But while the aspiring nurse was attacked online, Torstenson left the encounter rather unscathed. asserted
Torstenson → pledge → encounter
He was criticized on X by conservative commentator Dustin Grage for his use of the vulgar term but seemed instead to embrace Grage's disapproval. asserted
He → criticize → disapproval
'This is the protester who was yelling at her through a megaphone,' Grage tweeted, accompanied by a photo of Torstenson at the University of Minnesota event. asserted
Grage → yell → event
'Totally cool to refer to a young female college student as a "c**t," apparently,' he continued, calling out local news outlets for failing to report on Torstenson's apparent aggression. asserted
he → refer → aggression
Two male students appeared to smile and laugh at the statement before the female student noticed that another protester was taking a video After the student noticed she was being recorded, she made eye contact with the camera and asked: 'Why are you recording me?' asserted
you → appear → me
Video of the exchange, shared online by male model Darnell Edwards, received more than 10 million views and thousands of angry comments The activist reshared the tweet, writing: 'Thanks for the shout out daddy. asserted
activist → share → shout
In August, Torstenson allegedly clashed with protesters over transgender participation in women's sports outside a Minnesota Lynx game at the Target Center arena in Minneapolis. uncertain
Torstenson → clash → Minneapolis
He waved a fan displaying the word 'c**t' during the demonstration and shouted 'vicious' words at attendees through his megaphone, Racket reported. asserted
Racket → wave → megaphone
An event organizer tried to get him to move, but he allegedly told her: 'No, not leaving, b***h. uncertain
he → try → her
He allegedly waved that same fan, which he displayed at the Gaines event last week, while standing behind Turning Point USA contributor Savannah Hernandez at an anti-ICE event in April, Alpha News reported. uncertain
News → wave → April
Hernandez was reporting on the event when she was allegedly assaulted by multiple protesters. uncertain
she → report → protesters
Torstenson is not accused of attacking her. asserted
Torstenson → accuse → her
The Russian-born activist was also detained by police during a demonstration outside Cities Church in St. Paul on Easter Sunday. asserted
activist → bear → Sunday
Torstenson, who was adopted from Moscow and allegedly has a 'strong accent,' regularly frequents protests in the Twin Cities and is known for his expletive-filled confrontations He and his fellow demonstrators shouted harassing comments at parishioners as they arrived for Sunday service, footage showed. uncertain
footage → adopt → service
The remarks could allegedly be heard inside as worship was taking place. uncertain
worship → hear → place
A police officer warned the protesters that their actions could result in arrests, but Torstenson continued to chant, saying: 'Oh, is that too loud for you?' uncertain
that → warn → you
The Daily Mail has approached the University of Saint Thomas nursing student and Torstenson for comment. asserted
Mail → approach → comment
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support