Nearly a month after leaving a campus event in Memphis, Kyle Rittenhouse will take the stage at Kent State University’s Kiva Auditorium today at 6 p.m.
The event, organized by the conservative student group Turning Point USA, was met with backlash.
Leaving early: Watch Kyle Rittenhouse leave University of Memphis event amid questions
Student organizations such as the Spanish and Latine Student Association and United Students Against Sweatshops issued a petition and organized protest events planned for Monday and Tuesday, according to a Kent SALSA Instagram post.
On Tuesday, students will walk out of class at noon, hold a press conference at 3:30 p.m., and teach in Oscar Ritchie Hall at 5:30 p.m.
Rittenhouse made headlines when he shot three protesters, killing two, at a Black Lives Matter rally in Wisconsin in 2020. He was charged and acquitted during a 2021 trial.
Petition against Rittenhouse receives 3,000 signatures
A Change.org petition, created by Kent students opposed to the speakers’ event, has more than 3,600 signatures.
Nearly fifty years ago, in 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of KSU protesters. Four students were killed and nine injured. The Rittenhouse event, the petition explains, is at odds with that history.
“The decision to harbor an individual involved in such violence is not only insensitive to our community’s past, but also threatens to further divide us during these already tense times,” the petition reads.
The petition urged Kent State University and Turning Point USA to reconsider the event.
Who is Kyle Rittenhouse?
Rittenhouse rose to fame at the age of 17 when he shot and killed two demonstrators and wounded a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as they protested the shooting of a black man by a white police officer.
Acquittal: Kyle Rittenhouse is not guilty of murder and reckless endangerment
He arrived in town with a semiautomatic rifle that a friend had bought for him. At 17, he was too young to legally buy it. Rittenhouse claimed he came to Kenosha from Illinois to protect local businesses and serve as a medic.
After the fatal shooting, he faced five charges, including two counts of first-degree intentional homicide. Because he pleaded self-defense in his trial, Rittenhouse was acquitted in 2021.
Rittenhouse ushered the stage in Memphis
Rittenhouse is a divisive figure, so when the University of Memphis chapter of Turning Point USA invited him to speak in March, he was met with fierce opposition.
Crowds of protesters lined the sidewalks and streets outside the venue, chanting and chanting against the event.
After 30 minutes on stage, his appearance was shortly after he was questioned by those in attendance. He was led off the stage without a word to the audience, the Tennessean reported.
What is Turning Point USA?
This time, the Kent chapter of Turning Point USA invited Rittenhouse to speak on their college campus.
Turning Point USA is a conservative nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics in schools ranging from high schools to colleges and university campuses, according to the TPUSA website.
They often bring in speakers like Rittenhouse to talk about conservative talking points, sometimes leading to backlash.
Bryce Buyakie covers courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached via email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @bryce_buyakie.
This article originally appeared in the Akron Beacon Journal: Kyle Rittenhouse’s speech draws opposition at Kent State University
