Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans vice chair, and Luke Mosiman, chair of the Arizona Young Republicans, were, at 24, the youngest participants in the chat whose ages Mother Jones could determine through public reporting and records. Politico reported Hendrix used variations of a racial slur more than a dozen times in the chat.

According to Kansas NPR affiliate KCUR, Hendrix lost his job as communications assistant for Kansas’ Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach after Politico reporters asked his boss, who is also the state GOP chair, about the texts. Hendrix did not respond to Politico’s requests for comment. The Kansas GOP said it was “disgusted” by the comments and that they do not reflect the views of Kansas Republicans, who, it emphasized, “elected a black chair a few months ago.” The Kansas Young Republicans reportedly became “inactive” after the messages were published.

On an episode of The Charlie Kirk Show on Wednesday, Vance dismissed the messages as representing only the immaturity of “kids,” arguing that they were getting far too much attention.

“By focusing on what kids are saying in a group chat—grow up! I’m sorry,” Vance said. “Focus on the real issues. Don’t focus on what kids say in group chats.”

One problem with this defense? The people in the group chat aren’t “kids.” By scanning public records and media reports, Mother Jones determined the ages of eight of the 11 participants in the chat: They appear to range from 24 to 35. Ages for three other participants—Bobby Walker, Michael Bartels, and Rachel Hope—were not publicly available.