Acquitted Kenosha Shooter Kyle Rittenhouse Flees Conservative Event At University Of Memphis After Students Protest

Kyle Rittenhouse, the 21-year-old gun rights activist who was acquitted for fatally shooting two people and injuring another at racial justice protests in 2020, faced intense backlash when he gave a speech at the University of Memphis on Wednesday.

Rittenhouse’s appearance at a campus event organized by the university’s chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative student organization, ignited widespread student protests. Despite the outcry, the university stated that it was legally obligated to allow Rittenhouse to speak due to the First Amendment and Tennessee’s Campus Free Speech Act.

At the event, Rittenhouse discussed the importance of the Second Amendment and criticized the Black Lives Matter movement. Students expressed their opposition to his presence and highlighted concerns about gun violence in the community and his promotion of what they perceived as racist views. Videos shared online captured students booing, walking out, challenging Rittenhouse’s statements and questioning information he claimed Black Lives Matter propagated.

A student reported, “He says that we shouldn’t celebrate Juneteenth, we shouldn’t celebrate Martin Luther King Day – we should be working those days – he called [Supreme Court justice] Ketanji Brown Jackson an affirmative action hire, he said all this nonsense about George Floyd and he said he’d be scared if a Black pilot was on a plane. Does that not seem racist?”

Rittenhouse’s involvement in the Kenosha protests in 2020, where he shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, aged 36, followed by Anthony Huber, 26. Additionally, Rittenhouse, then 17, injured Gaige Grosskreutz, a 26-year-old protester and volunteer medic who was armed with his own firearm. Rittenhouse’s subsequent acquittal in November 2021 fueled criticism from those who believed it revealed a double standard in the treatment of white vigilantes compared to racial justice protesters.

While speaking at an event for the University of Memphis’ Turning Point USA chapter, Kyle Rittenhouse was heckled so badly he eventually stormed off stage pic.twitter.com/v3xOYcm4Jr

— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) March 23, 2024

The appearance of Rittenhouse at the University of Memphis reignited discussions about the boundaries of free speech, the impact of racial tensions and the role of universities in hosting controversial figures. The event showcased the deep divisions and emotional responses surrounding issues of gun rights, racial justice, and the legacy of protests that continue to shape public discourse.

Rittenhouse asked for and received his gun back that was used in the shooting.

In 2022, Rittenhouse threatened to sue LeBron James and Whoopi Goldberg for defamation.