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 college’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 Rittenhouse’s presence.

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

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

  • akakunai@lemmy.ca
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    8 months ago

    “I am not aware of these comments or their context, but if said—yes, I agree they are racist.” Not hard.

    • aidan@lemmy.worldM
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      8 months ago

      That’s easy to say in retrospect, it’s hard for a lot of people to answer something they didn’t expect on the spot, even if they know the answer

      • WaxedWookie@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Rittenhouse isn’t some random dipshit that got cornered (ironically, a favourite of the likes of Crowder and Shapiro until they realised even students embarrass them) - he’s the Daily Wire’s spokesperson for crossing state lines to manufacture a situation to murder your political opponents. He chose to speak in front of that crowd, chose to field questions, and chose to run (presumably because he didn’t have a gun to kill those he disagrees with).

        • aidan@lemmy.worldM
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          8 months ago

          Yeah what your saying is he is not famous for his speaking skills, which are normal person levels. So I don’t see why this is surprising

              • WaxedWookie@lemmy.world
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                8 months ago

                Do you consistently defend people that you admit are unqualified for their job and incapable of doing it - even when it’s as essential as bragging about crossing state lines to procure a gun and manufacture a flimsy legal pretext to kill your political opponents, or is this an outlier for you?

                  • WaxedWookie@lemmy.world
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                    8 months ago

                    Everyone does that - unlike you, most people are also capable of progressing to conclusions from straightforward situations or answering simple questions.

                    This has strong neo-Nazi-style “just asking questions” energy. If you’re capable of drawing conclusions, own them. If you’re not, you’ve got nothing to contribute here.