Kyle Rittenhouse draws protest, praise and a student sit-in at Western Kentucky University
BOWLING GREEN — With a shirt that read "print guns, not money," Ben LeNeave saw opportunity where others saw division after plans to bring Kyle Rittenhouse to Western Kentucky University's campus went public.
A self-described "radical supporter of the constitution, the First and Second Amendments," LeNeave joined the crowd Wednesday evening to collect contact information for Young Americans for Liberty, a libertarian activism organization. He pulled a dozen signatures in his first 20 minutes, with a few notes next to names who could be interested in leadership positions.
"I just figured it'd be a good crowd to recruit off of," he said ahead of the forum. "I've already had some good conversations with both sides."
"Both sides," as LeNeave put it, had plenty to say. That tends to be the case when Rittenhouse is in the news.
He was 17 when he brought a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle purchased for him by a friend to an August 2020 protest in Wisconsin following the police shooting of Jacob Blake where he then shot three protesters who confronted him, killing two. He's now 21, acquitted of all charges, and on a media tour of the region that's drawn strong reactions at each stop.
He stormed out of a forum last week at the University of Memphis after being met by hundreds of protesters, a little more than a month after he spoke at East Tennessee State. And it was a similar scene in Bowling Green, on a day that began with a student sit-in at WKU's administrative office and ended with chants and cheers among two groups of activists following Rittenhouse's speech at the Downing Student Union.
Rittenhouse, who was found not guilty of intentional homicide in 2021 and has since become a GOP firebrand, was invited to campus by WKU's chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit operating at colleges across the U.S. That group was founded by Charlie Kirk, who's made headlines recently for saying he questions whether Black pilots are qualified due to diversity, equity and inclusion policies and the "deification of (Martin Luther King Jr.) and his proto-DEI ideology marks the exact moment that the progress of black America goes sideways."
Branch President Cade Holcombe, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the event, previously said Rittenhouse was invited to share his story to "start a good conversation" and "find a solid middle ground."
WKU leadership didn't endorse the event. Amid backlash earlier this week, school President Tim Caboni said universities in Kentucky are required by law to give student political organizations equal rights to reserve venues on campus, adding colleges "have an obligation to establish an environment where a wide range of perspectives are exchanged, even if the ideas presented are different from our own, offensive or even contemptible."
He was not made available for an interview Wednesday. But students on campus who disagree with Rittenhouse's actions and positions — as protests blared outside during his speech, he said he acted as "any reasonable person would do" before the shooting and advocated for students to carry guns on their college campus — weren't shy in voicing their opposition.
School leaders may not have been able to stop the event, protest organizer Arianna Pierson said, but students noticed when they didn't openly condemn it. She and at least 20 other members of For The People, an advocacy group for students and the community that leaders say was formed “a day after the Kyle Rittenhouse (event) flyer dropped,” hosted a sit-in at the school’s Wetherby Administration Building that began in the morning and lasted late into the afternoon.
“The administration claims neutrality but obviously they are not neutral, and we decided to come to a space where they can't hide in their offices,“ Pierson said. “This is where they work, so you come here, you see our faces, and it's a reminder that everything that is going on regarding the political climate of the university, you cannot ignore it. If we're in your face, you can't ignore us.”
More coverage: Recap: Updates from Kyle Rittenhouse's Western Kentucky University event
The demonstration was sparked by Rittenhouse's planned appearance, but that was only the last straw.
Those at the administrative office lobby were there to call for more minority representation in WKU's Student Government Association, which did not openly speak out against the event, and to rip school leadership for their lack of vocal opposition to several pending bills in the state legislature that would curb diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at public universities. Events the university planned on campus to counterprogram against Rittenhouse's forum weren't enough, organizer Malick Diallo added.
Pierson and Diallo are Black, as were many of those involved in the sit-in. And while the men killed by Rittenhouse were white, the shootings occurred at a protest over police violence against Black Americans. WKU's lack of action against Rittenhouse's appearance reflected that, Diallo said.
“It's just been an absolute insult to our intelligence and our emotions and our feelings — and not to mention our history as well,” he said. “This is not a one-time problem.”
WKU spokesperson Jace Lux provided a statement on behalf of the school that said WKU does not comment on pending legislation "as a matter of practice" and noted Caboni had "outlined a number of ways the campus community could appropriately address topics or speakers with which they disagree" in his letter to students and faculty earlier in the week.
“We are proud that our students chose to make their position known in a thoughtful, peaceful and respectful manner today," the statement about the sit-in added.
For The People marched through campus after the sit-in, drawing in more protesters, and eventually stopped in front of the venue ahead of the ticketed event. They were joined by a separate protest from the Bowling Green Freedom Walkers — the College Heights Herald, WKU's student newspaper, reported WKU Police estimated the crowd reached 700 people at its peak.
The protesters were loud. But they weren't alone. Supporters were among them, including Charlie Clabbers, an Allen County man who made the trip to Bowling Green to hear Rittenhouse's side.
He didn't make it inside. The venue seated about 120 people, and while tickets were available to anyone who signed up, only those at the front of the line were let in. As he stood outside with those who were cut off from entry, Clabbers said he was disappointed he couldn't hear Rittenhouse's story "from the horse's mouth."
"I don't know what I was hoping to hear. I just wanted to see it," Clabbers said after the doors closed. "Maybe they'll have a debate, I don't know if they will it or not, and bring some points to light of what really happened."
Rittenhouse was in the right when he fired his gun that night, Clabbers contended. He ran initially when he was approached at the protest, he said, and "gave everybody an opportunity to leave him alone" before he fired. People have spent years arguing about it, Clabbers said, and it won't end any time soon.
"I would love to see people have dialogue. I would love to have seen people talk — not just scream and yell one side," he said. "You don't ever get anywhere. It doesn't matter if you're on this side or that side. Anybody who's screaming and yelling doesn't solve any argument."
The event ended a little more than 30 minutes after it began. Rittenhouse left, protesters in the audience emerged to cheers, and after a couple brief confrontations between supporters and opposition, the crowd outside the Downing Student Union had mostly dispersed by 8:30 p.m.
And whether you agree or disagree with Clabbers, he was right on one point — the screaming and yelling didn't change a thing. Rittenhouse's tour will roll on next month with a stop at Kent State University.
Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kyle Rittenhouse WKU event draws big reaction from student protesters
