The son of newly elected U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) has alleged that he was “assaulted” by students with a can of spray paint over an advertisement he was trying to paint in “the free expression tunnel” at North Carolina State University. Jack Bishop, 19, is a student at the Raleigh-based school and was trying to advertise for conservative student movement Turning Point USA, which is hosting an event on Wednesday night called “Culture War.” “The worst thing that happened was the fact that we had a bunch of people coming up to intimidate conservative students and try to censor conservative speech on campus,” Bishop told The News & Observer.

He alleges that a group of student-activist “thugs” associated with the school’s chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America and the No Hate at NC State Coalition showed up with more paint and sprayed his eyes, neck, head, and torso. Bishop said his injuries were treated by emergency medical personnel. But a member of the No Hate at NC State Coalition said in a statement that the group was just trying to cover Bishop’s advertisement with their own message, when he jumped in front of them to protect his work. “All of us who were painting intentionally avoided spraying anyone, moved away from them several times and advised them to move away from the wall,” the statement says. “He intentionally tried to get sprayed to frame it as an assault.” Campus police issued citations to members of both groups but arrested no one.