Kyle Rittenhouse, the man who was acquitted in 2021 of charges relating to him fatally shooting two men and injuring another during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has again sparked outrage after a student chapter of a conservative nonprofit announced plans to host him as a speaker at the University of Memphis this month.
Rittenhouse was 17 when he shot the protesters at a demonstration in response to the police shooting that left a 29-year-old Black man, Jacob S. Blake, paralyzed in Kenosha in August 2020.
Rittenhouse, who claimed self-defense in the deadly protest shootings, was invited to speak on March 20 at the university by a chapter of Turning Point USA, the Commercial Appeal reported.
Turning Point USA, which was founded by right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk and at one time employed Candace Owens, advertises itself as an organization seeking “to identify, educate, train and organize students to promote freedom,” according to its website.
Rittenhouse shot the people with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle, which he wasn’t legally allowed to possess at the time due to his age under Wisconsin law, according to reports.
Rittenhouse said on X that his trial “split the nation into opposing sides fueled by emotions, politics and misconceptions driven by media and political figures.”
Since his acquittal nearly three years ago, Rittenhouse has become popular among far-right politicians and Second Amendment advocates, even appearing in ads and serving as a spokesperson for body armor companies and launching a pro-guns nonprofit.
The University of Memphis, made up of 34 percent Black people and 38 percent White people, told the Commercial Appeal in a statement that the upcoming event hosting Rittenhouse isn’t university-sponsored.
“Under the First Amendment and Tennessee’s Campus Free Speech Act, the University of Memphis cannot legally prohibit such events from being hosted by a registered student organization,” the university told the outlet.
The announcement of his planned appearance in Memphis, which follows a speaking appearance at another Tennessee university hosted by the same conservative group, has triggered outrage among some who don’t agree with the decision.
Tami Sawyer, the Democratic nominee for Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk, asked the University of Memphis’ president, Bill Hardgrave, to “make it make sense” in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The university is her alma mater.
“The @uofmemphis has Kyle Rittenhouse speaking on 2A and the lies of BLM,” Sawyer wrote. “Please help me understand this happening in this 65% Black city.”
Sawyer also posted Hardgrave’s and his chief of staff’s contact information for the university’s alumni, students, faculty, staff, and community residents.
“Let him know how you feel about Kyle Rittenhouse speaking at OUR school,” she wrote.
Others online have expressed their thoughts about Rittenhouse’s upcoming speaking engagement.
One person wrote on X, “For him to think he can show his face as if we’re not familiar with him is very deleterious,” and said Tennessee state Rep. Antonio Parkinson “should be ASHAMED for even welcoming him here.”
An advertisement for the controversial upcoming speaking engagement shared by another X user said Rittenhouse was scheduled to speak about the Second Amendment and “the lies of BLM.”
The X poster who shared the advertisement pointed out the university’s significant Black population and wrote, “They’re inviting Kyle Rittenhouse to [defame] BLM??? This is insane. They really hate us even when they benefit off us.”
Someone else shared their thoughts on X that the university needed to “do better” than allowing Rittenhouse to visit campus to speak to students.
They wrote, “This is a damn hypocrisy. And a bad one.”
