He's a rich Alabama boy positioning himself as the next Charlie Kirk. But insiders say he's a complete FRAUD... charging obscene sums in wake of shooting that shook America
A bitter MAGA civil war fight has broken out over the abrupt ascent of Brilyn Hollyhand, a 19-year-old conservative podcaster from a wealthy Alabama family, who's been accused of positioning himself to be the heir to Charlie Kirk's activist empire.
'Brilyn Hollyhand is a talking head who has no grassroots experience, no activism experience and no business billing himself as the next Charlie Kirk,' William Donahue, 26, chairman of College Republicans of America, told the Daily Mail.
Donahue worked directly with Kirk's Turning Point Action group during the 2024 election cycle to register voters for Donald Trump. He was first introduced to Hollyhand when the teen, who began his podcasting career in 4th grade, was appointed to chair the Republican National Committee's Youth Advisory Council.
Donahue says he reached out to Hollyhand in 2024, urging him to work with the RNC to build a unified college Republican infrastructure for voter registration. But, he claims, Hollyhand was more interested in promoting himself.
'He did nothing. We never saw him,' Donahue said. 'He spoke at a couple of campuses, at a couple of events. He never joined us in any ballot chasing initiatives. He never registered any voters with us.'
'The only thing he has done is used the position he had with the Youth Advisory Council to build a podcast and build his own brand,' Donahue added.
'It's a disgrace to Charlie's legacy,' he said.
This all comes as Hollyhand embarks on 10-stop college campus tour - mirroring Kirk's events - further infuriating some of Kirk's allies who see it as attempt to corner the Turning Point audience just weeks after the conservative icon was laid to rest.
Hollyhand is facing new criticism from longtime activists who worked closely with him during the 2024 election
Donahue says he reached out to Hollyhand in 2024, urging him to work with the RNC to build a unified college Republican infrastructure for voter registration. But, he claims, Hollyhand was more interested in promoting himself
Hollyhand, who calls himself 'The Internet's Youngest Voice of Reason' refutes the comparsion to Kirk, posting on X, 'I'll never be Charlie, and I don't want to be Charlie. I can't! He was 1 of 1. I'm Brilyn...'
Nevertheless, his tour has been marred by these accusations and others.
Now, the Daily Mail has learned, Hollyhand may also be charging colleges and universities to speak on their campuses.
The Daily Mail reached out to Premiere Speakers Bureau, an agency that helps connect speakers and organizations, posing as an interested college student and received the following response: 'Brilyn's fee is $7,500 plus coach class airfare and expenses for (2) two. Is this within budget?'
When reached for comment, Hollyhand denied ever receiving a payment for speaking on a college campus and claimed he pays for his own travel costs.
The Daily Mail then received another email from the Premiere Speakers Bureau which read, in part, 'For campus events, Brilyn is happy to work with whatever budget is available to bring in a speaker. He loves speaking to student groups and wants to make himself available without budgets being a barrier.'
Unlike Kirk, who built Turning Point USA from a grassroots organization headquartered in his parent's garage to a non-profit hauling in $100 million annually, Hollyhand is often dismissed by critics as a child of privilege, whose family made a fortune off of low-income housing construction in Alabama.
Now, the Daily Mail has learned, Hollyhand may also be charging colleges and universities to speak on their campuses
The Daily Mail then received another email from the Premiere Speakers Bureau which read, in part, 'For campus events, Brilyn is happy to work with whatever budget is available to bring in a speaker'
In response to Donahue's criticism, Hollyhand told the Daily Mail: 'In my two years at the RNC helping get Trump back in the Oval Office, our team helped our party dominate on TikTok, bring GOP candidates to college campuses, stream our debates so Gen Z had a front row seat to democracy in action, and modernize the Grand Ole Party.
'I'm proud that Gen Z was able to help get Trump back in the Oval Office and deliver Republicans a majority in Congress!' he added.
Meanwhile, Hollyhand found himself going viral over the weekend, but not for the right reasons.
He posted a video of himself flying on a private jet enroute to the first stop of his college tour.
'That's not how Charlie did it,' a source close with Turning Point leadership told the Daily Mail. 'Charlie had a clipboard and tennis shoes, boots on the ground. Driving his car from campus to campus in the early days.'
Indeed, the source said it was concerning that Hollyhand appears to be making the tour about himself rather than conservative grassroot causes once championed by Kirk.
Hollyhand has previously claimed that his tour stops were 'sponsored' by Turning Point USA. But, according to Turning Point spokesman Andrew Kolvet, Hollyhand is working with individual chapters by asking them to invite him as a speaker to their campus, but is not receiving support from the organization's national wing.
'It is not sponsored by the organization,' Kolvet told the Daily Mail. 'It's his own tour. He's doing it completely on his own initiative. It's completely separate from our organization's official tour this semester... I wish him all the success in the world.'
Hollyhand posted a video of himself flying on a private jet enroute to the first stop of his college tour.
That message, however, may not be trickling down to the Turning Point foot soldiers.
Samuel Gonzalez, 22, president of Turning Point at Mississippi State and a senior at the college, where Hollyhand has planned a tour stop on October 20, told the Daily Mail that he was approached by one of TPUSA's field representatives who oversees several chapters in an assigned geographic region - and encouarged to work with Hollyhand.
'We understand that [Hollyhand] is a partner, partnering with the National Turning Point USA headquarters to be a speaker,' Gonzalez told Daily Mail.
Hollyhand, though, does have his MAGA defenders, including former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis and right-wing activist Laura Loomer, who called on his 'jealous' detractors to 'leave him alone.'
'You all know you're only hating on this young man because he comes from money,' Loomer wrote on X.
Ellis added, 'instead of tearing down a kid who is just trying to follow Charlie's example, let's keep raising up thousands of kids to influence the world for Christ as Charlie did.'
Hollyhand initially rose to prominence when Kirk and appeared on his podcast when the young Alabamian was only in the fourth grade. At the age of eleven, in June 2017, Hollyhand founded the email newsletter 'The Truth Gazette.' He now has over 220,000 followers on X.
Since Kirk's death, Hollyhand has appeared on Fox News numerous times thanking the late Turning Point founder for inspiring him to pursue campus activism.
The Hollyhand family hails from the western Alabama county of Tuscaloosa, where Brilyn's grandfather, Doug Hollyhand, founded a construction company and built the family's fortune.
During this time, Doug Hollyhand family lived on a small farm outside the town of Coker. Over the years, the company grew to eventually manage low-income Section 8 housing as well as retirement communities.
According to FEC records, the Doug Hollyhand has donated to the Alabama Republican Party since the 1970s. Most recently, he donated the maximum contribution of $6,600 to Alabama Senator Katie Britt's 2024 campaign.
For his part, Brylin thanked Senator Britt in his latest book 'One Generation Away: Why Now Is the Time to Restore American Freedom' published in the same year.
'Brilyn Hollyhand is a talking head who has no grassroots experience, no activism experience and no business billing himself as the next Charlie Kirk,' William Donahue, 26, chairman of College Republicans of America, told the Daily Mail
The Hollyhand family hails from the western Alabama county of Tuscaloosa, where Brilyn's grandfather, Doug Hollyhand, founded a construction company and built the family's fortune
FEC records show Brilyn's father, Brian Hollyhand, started making political donations in 2009, and contributed the maximum amount to Britt's Senate campaign in 2021.
Steven McGuigan, who grew up with Brian Hollyhand and worked as an IT consultant for the Hollyhand family for over 25 years, said they were never particularly political.
He said that Brilyn was the first family member to venture into political world, but with the full support of his parents.
'Brilyn just got interested in that at a very young age, and he was encouraged to pursue his interests...[Brilyn's parents] have been very supportive of his endeavors,' McGuigan added.
