Kyle Rittenhouse at University of Memphis: The People Who Came to Protest ‘Wanted to Riot’
Chaos erupted at the University of Memphis after leftists disrupted TPUSA chapter event with Kyle Rittenhouse last night
Leftist agitators disrupted the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter event hosting Kyle Rittenhouse last night at the University of Memphis.
Protesters organized outside of a TPUSA chapter event last night at the University of Memphis, where just two days ago, faculty made a series of deliberate decisions to undermine the event. Before the event began, protesters began intimidating attendees who were waiting to enter the event space. Shortly after, they entered the space themselves and began placing paper on the seats with the names of the men who were involved in Rittenhouse’s self-defense legal case during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots.
Outside, protesters repeatedly chanted “Lock his a** up,” while holding signs calling Rittenhouse a “murderer.” One sign, photographed by Julio Rosas who was reporting at the event on behalf of TPUSA Frontlines, mentioned the “electric chair,” as a means of capital punishment, next to an image of Rittenhouse.
Rittenhouse, who was acquitted of all charges in 2021 after using a firearm to defend himself against violent BLM protesters, was planning to speak to students regarding Second Amendment rights and self-defense. Chaos erupted however when protesters staged a walkout during a portion of Rittenhouse’s speech.
In the days leading up to the event, the University of Memphis took several unprecedented actions to undermine the event, including requiring TPUSA students to invalidate hundreds of tickets reserved in advance and use the school’s ticketing platform the morning of the event. The university additionally reduced the number of available seats the students were allowed to reserve, and scoffed at the chapter president who had his personal information, including his phone number and address, shared online.
During a meeting with school administrators, the TPUSA chapter president at the university asked what actions could be taken to address his safety concerns, but was given a lackadaisical response. The university then allowed the student who doxxed the chapter president into the event, despite their knowledge of his impermissible actions.
Event attendees were chased down by droves of protesters as they were leaving campus following the event, prompting police to block what Rosas called a “hostile crowd” from “physically attacking them.” The leftist agitators also attempted to prevent vehicles from leaving the parking garage, according to videos captured by Rosas.
In one video captured by Rosas, a woman can be seen “dragging a small child while trying to keep up with the crowd.”
Following the event, Rittenhouse told Rosas that he “highly doubt[s] that [protesters are] going to be held accountable for harassing and intimidating and chasing other students.”
“To see [protesters] chasing after [attendees] for exercising their First Amendment rights is really disheartening,” Rittenhouse said. He said that prior to the event he “knew [he] was going into a hostile environment,” but added, “I’m getting more comfortable with getting up in front of a crowd that doesn’t like me to share my story and hopefully educate people on our Constitutional rights.”
