Kyle Rittenhouse abruptly departed the stage during an appearance at the University of Memphis on Wednesday, after he was confronted about comments made by Turning Point USA founder and president Charlie Kirk.

Rittenhouse was invited by the collegeā€™s Turning Point USA chapter to speak at the campus. However, the event was met with backlash from a number of students who objected to Rittenhouseā€™s presence.

The 21-year-old gained notoriety in August 2020 when, at the age of 17, heĀ shot and killed two menā€”Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, as well as injuring 26-year-old Gaige Grosskreutzā€”at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

He said theĀ three shootings, carried out with a semi-automaticĀ AR-15-style firearm, were in self-defense. TheĀ Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest where the shootings took place was held afterĀ Jacob Blake, a Black man, was left paralyzed from the waist down after he was shot by a white police officer.

  • DozensOfDonner@mander.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    Ā·
    9 months ago

    Maybe Iā€™m missing something as Iā€™m not from the states. Why the hell is a guy who is famous for murder invites to talk at a university?

    • Captain Janeway@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      Ā·
      9 months ago

      Rittenhouse was invited to speak at Wednesdayā€™s event by the universityā€™s Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter. Founded in 2012, the non-profit promotes conservative politics at schools and college campuses.