At a Women’s Republican Club (WRC) meeting in Salt Lake County, Utah, tensions erupted after Jeri Brummett, a trans-identified male, reportedly took control of the proceedings and physically blocked women from entering the event. Multiple women at the meeting described Brummett’s actions as bullying and a violation of the club’s established procedures.
“[Brummett] without any authority, under the objection of a supermajority of the members, just kept raising his voice, kept shutting us down, kept castigating us for interrupting him, and he did that for an hour,” said Kim Coleman, the Republican National Committeewoman for Utah and a WRC member. She described the situation as a “clown show” and accused Brummett and a small group of allies of staging a “coup” of the club.
Brummett, acting as the meeting’s parliamentarian without proper certification, dismissed points of order raised by members and prevented them from bringing in their own certified parliamentarian. Viral footage also showed Brummett physically barring women from entering the meeting, even those who claimed to have paid their dues. “When I showed up at the meeting, my dues were paid in full for 2024 and for 2025, and they told me I wasn’t on the list and would not be admitted,” said Kathleen Anderson, a former WRC president.
The controversy stemmed in part from disagreements over membership rules. A parliamentary opinion posted by Brummett on the WRC’s Facebook page stated that dues were delinquent after March 1, 2024, and late payments could affect voting outcomes. Critics argued this rule was being selectively enforced to block certain participants.
Coleman and others criticized Brummett’s actions, noting that parliamentarians are typically “barely seen and never heard” in WRC meetings. Instead, Brummett dominated the proceedings, cutting off members and dismissing their objections. “The bully part came in when he kept shutting us down,” Coleman added.
The incident, which has drawn significant backlash online, highlights ongoing tensions within the Republican Party over the role of trans-identifying individuals in women’s spaces. Video clips of the event have gone viral, sparking widespread criticism of Brummett’s behavior.
