Kyle Rittenhouse abruptly exited the stage during his appearance at the University of Memphis on Wednesday following a confrontation regarding remarks made by Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA, the organization behind his college speaking tour, according to footage circulating on the social media platform X.
Rittenhouse was invited by the university’s Turning Point USA chapter to speak about the Second Amendment and the “lies of [Black Lives Matter],” which drew outrage from several students. College communities pushed back against his invitation to their campuses, noting his status as a controversial figure.
Rittenhouse gained infamy after he was cleared of any wrongdoing for fatally shooting two men with an AR-15-style rifle during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, against the police shooting of Jacob Blake in 2020. He fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and injured Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, claiming self-defense.
In the video, Rittenhouse stood onstage at the University of Memphis as students confronted him about Kirk’s previous statements, Turning Point USA’s founder and executive director.
“Charlie Kirk has said a lot of racist things,” said a student addressing Rittenhouse from the audience.
“What racist things has Charlie Kirk said?” Rittenhouse snapped back. “We’re gonna have a little bit of a dialogue of what racist things that Charlie Kirk said.”
The student replied: “He says that we shouldn’t celebrate Juneteenth, we shouldn’t celebrate Martin Luther King Day—we should be working those days—he called 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?”
Kirk has been known for his outrageous rhetoric that toes the line of hatred and white supremacy.
“I don’t know anything about that,” Rittenhouse said from the stage, prompting jeers among the audience.
“Does that seem racist is a yes or no question, Kyle,” yelled another attendee.
“Well, after all the things I just told you, would you consider that hate speech?” the student asked Rittenhouse, who had a dog with him onstage.
“I’m not gonna comment on that,” Rittenhouse replied, eliciting further reaction from the crowd.
Moments later, Rittenhouse abruptly left the stage drawing cheers from the audience, and attendees were instructed to vacate the venue promptly, a longer video shows.
In addition to the University of Memphis, Rittenhouse will be making appearances at Kent State University and Western Kentucky University for the tour titled “Rittenhouse Recap.”
The universities made it clear that Rittenhouse was not invited by the schools’ administrations but by student organizations.
Turning Point Memphis defended their invitation, stating, “Rittenhouse is an advocate for our Second Amendment in the Constitution. He was proven innocent in trial. He was attacked, he defended himself and he was acquitted. Now he plans to share his story for all to hear his point of view aside from how the media framed him.”
Despite the calls to cancel the events, the universities pointed to the First Amendment and the free exchange of ideas to support Rittenhouse’s appearances.
“While WKU’s commitment to free speech includes allowing groups to invite guests to campus, that does not mean that the university supports, endorses or agrees with the views of those individuals,” a spokesperson for Western Kentucky University stated.
At Kent State, an online petition was launched calling for the school to cancel Rittenhouse’s event. Students argued that inviting someone with a history of gun violence to a campus where 13 student protesters were shot is a poor decision.
“A registered student organization is bringing this speaker to campus. Kent State University upholds the First Amendment rights of free speech and peaceful assembly for all. As a state university, we permit groups and individuals to speak and share their views on our campus about topics they feel are important,” Kent State said in a statement. “Kent State has a long history of allowing peaceful dialogue from all points of view, including those whom some may feel are offering different and/or sometimes controversial opinions.”
The Black Student Association at the University of Memphis called on students who objected to Rittenhouse’s event to join them in securing tickets and filling up seats to stage a mass walkout. Black audience members could be seen in videos shared online, along with several empty seats.
Later, Rittenhouse himself posted a follow-up video captioned on X: “Quick update. We made it back safely!”
“Hi everyone, we’ve just returned from Memphis University. Byron here assisted with my security today,” Rittenhouse said in the clip. “It’s interesting seeing the videos and reading media reports claiming we arrived at 4 o’clock.”
Disputing the timeline, Rittenhouse shared a positive review of the event, stating, “Anyway, it was a fantastic event, and it’s amusing how the media reports we were booed offstage. In reality, we adhered to a strict time limit and left accordingly. It was a great event with intriguing people, to say the least.”
He also responded to Tennessee-based civil rights activist and former Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer’s post on X.
“Kyle Rittenhouse stormed offstage like the coward he is. I commend the University of Memphis students who organized resistance tonight, along with the Black Student Association, the U of M NAACP, alumni, and faculty who spoke out. I am not proud of @uofmemphis administration,” Sawyer wrote.
“Hey Tami, why didn’t you have the courage to ask me any questions?” Rittenhouse responded. The civil rights activist has not responded as of Thursday morning.
