Kyle Rittenhouse scheduled to speak at Western Kentucky University

Kyle Rittenhouse, who gained nationwide fame after he fatally shot two protesters, is scheduled to speak at Western Kentucky University.

Rittenhouse was 17 in August 2020 when he fired an AR-15-style rifle during a protest over the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was later acquitted on five charges, including intentional homicide.

"The Rittenhouse Recap," which is free to attend, will take place in the Downing Student Union on March 27 at 7 p.m. The event is sponsored by the WKU chapter of Turning Point USA, an organization promoting conservative political values. On a website for the event, organizers wrote Rittenhouse would speak about "the importance of the Second Amendment and the lies of (the Black Lives Matter movement)."

The student group is not affiliated with WKU itself, university spokesperson Jace Lux said. Student leaders with WKU Turning Point USA were permitted by the university to reserve a space in the student union's Nite Class room.

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"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," Lux said in a statement.

Rittenhouse is also scheduled to speak March 20 at at the University of Memphis, another event sponsored by a campus chapter of Turning Point USA.

Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@courierjournal.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kyle Rittenhouse to speak at Western Kentucky University