Judge Gonzalo Curiel

12:10 PMCertain words come with consequences, which Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has had to learn the hard way in the past year. During a campaign rally in late May, Trump attacked U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over the civil-fraud, class-action lawsuit against him.

Curiel is an American who was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrants who were naturalized citizens — not, as Trump said to the crowd while criticizing the lawsuits — “happens to be Mexican.”

Curiel is a member of the fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., and in recent days, one of the consequences of the negative comments has been nationwide criticism from Curiel’s fraternity brothers. Members of Kappa Alpha Psi, a predominantly black fraternity, have taken to social media, using the hashtags #Nupes4Curiel and #NupesAgainstTrump, to express support for the judge.

We stand with our brother #GonzaloCuriel 👌🏾#Nupesagainsttrump

— Trevor McKenzie (@trevmck) June 6, 2016

#NupesAgainstTrump supports Judge Curiel (spr 74). Trump is suggesting that because of his ethnicity, he’s incapable. #ignorance #racism

— b4sMoKeDeRsFiRe (@b4sMoKeDeRsFiRe) June 7, 2016

#NupesAgainstTrump Standing with my Fraternity Brother already vetted to be a judge and Brothers! Achievement is our fundamental purpose!

— Roney Smith (@seedoflife) June 7, 2016

#NUPEsAgainstTrump Not like I was voting for him anyway.#WatchTheYard pic.twitter.com/msIwAxX4lC

— Jazzy's Groove (@JazzyNUPE) June 7, 2016

Besides tweets, fraternity members have also launched a petition on Change.org, titled “Men of Kappa Stand In Solidarity with Judge Gonzalo Curiel.” The petition does not call for any member to avoid voting for Trump, but rather provides information about Curiel’s identity as a Hispanic man who also identifies with black culture — the information Trump made no attempt to consider.

While the petition, which was started by the Montclair, New Jersey, alumni chapter, is not affiliated with Kappa Alpha Psi’s national organization, the fraternity’s national president, grand polemarch Thomas L. Battles Jr., released a statement of support on the fraternity’s website.

“Kappa Alpha Psi stands firmly against the practice of judging a man solely by his race, creed, or national origin,” Battles wrote. “We believe all Americans are entitled to the freedoms afforded by the Constitution without regards to race. Our fraternity will continue to oppose all forms of racism and rebuke those who promote this evil.”