Watch: Kyle Rittenhouse speaks at KSU as hundreds of protesters gather outside
KENT, Ohio (WJW) – Hundreds of Kent State University students and others protested outside the student center as a controversial speaker visited campus Tuesday evening.
Kyle Rittenhouse spoke to Kent State University’s Turning Point USA Chapter about the importance of the Second Amendment.
TPUSA is a conservative student group that sponsored the appearance.
“I know there are some people in the crowd who don’t like me, but that’s fine. We have the right to peacefully protest,” Rittenhouse said. “I think young women, young men have the right to protect themselves, have the right to own firearms and it’s a constitutional infringement for them to say you can’t carry a gun on campus.”
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In 2020, Rittenhouse was accused of killing two men and wounding a third during protests in Wisconsin. The protests were over police shooting a Black man.
Rittenhouse pleaded self-defense and was acquitted on all charges.
The Associated Press called the case a “flashpoint in the nation’s debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice.”
“I knew it would be polarizing. To get people interested, it would have to be,” Brady Seymour, the president of the Kent State chapter of Turning Point USA, previously told FOX 8. “At first, the reactions were positive. However, ever since we posted the flyer, its been pretty much negative.”
A protest was scheduled for 3:30 p.m., ahead of Rittenhouse’s appearance on campus. The protest was organized by Ohio Student Association, Spanish and Latine Student Association, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Black United Students.
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The groups said in a press release, “Kyle Rittenhouse’s presence as a guest speaker not only disrespects the legacy of bloodshed endured by protesters on Kent State’s campus but also embodies a deeply disturbing ideology of white supremacism, which students across Ohio find intolerable and a threat to our safety.”
Senior Ally Greco created an online petition calling on the university to reconsider hosting Rittenhouse on campus.
“He has a lot of discourse around him and most of the discourse is negative because of his violent past,” said Greco.
Kent State released the following statement to FOX 8:
“At Kent State University, we are driven by our core values, which include kindness and respect and freedom of speech. We cannot ban speech because it would go against a core value and because of well-established laws governing free speech on public university campuses. Upholding the First Amendment rights of free speech and peaceful assembly for all, the university 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. Consistent with our core values, we encourage open dialogue and respectful civil discourse in an inclusive environment.
The safety of our community is the priority of Kent State’s Department of Public Safety, Police Services. Police Services is aware, monitors and assesses the safety of our community during campus events and responds accordingly.”
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