Student group urges Arizona State University to ban Kyle Rittenhouse

An Arizona State University student group is urging the school to block Kyle Rittenhouse from attending classes there, just weeks after the 18-year-old beat a double-murder rap in Wisconsin stemming from his 2020 killing of two Black Lives Matter protesters and the wounding of a third.

“Join us and rally against racist murderer Kyle Rittenhouse being permitted on our campus — Wednesday at 3:30 outside the Nelson Fine Arts Center on campus,” reads a statement from an unverified twitter account attributed to Students for Socialism ASU.

Kyle Rittenhouse looks back as attorneys discuss items in the motion for mistrial presented by his defense during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on November 17, 2021 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Pool/)

Rittenhouse was acquitted on all charges against him, including a pair of murder counts, on Nov. 19. A jury found the teenager had acted in self-defense.

Rittenhouse said during his testimony that he was continuing his education through the Tempe, Ariz., school. A spokesperson for the university clarified that the Antioch, Ill., teen was signed up for a non-degree online course, but was not a student on campus. Rittenhouse claimed he is “not a racist person” during a controversial post-acquittal interview with far right wing Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

The Students for Socialism ASU Tweet was retweeted by an account credited to YDSA ASU, which calls itself a “Passionate student socialists organizing in The Valley of the Sun.”

Students are also pressuring ASU to release a statement opposing white supremacy and establishing a safe “space” from it. They plan to get together for a “sign-making event” Monday night.

Rittenhouse’s attorney said after the gunman’s trial that his client would likely leave the Midwest, where he has allegedly received death threats. Rittenhouse said he’s strongly considering a future in nursing. Several GOP lawmakers have praised Rittenhouse’s actions, with some suggesting he should come work for them.

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Arizona congressman Paul Gosar — who was censured for posting violent images aimed at Democratic politicians earlier this month — wrote on Twitter he would welcome Rittenhouse to his state.

“Arizona will welcome #KyleRittenhouse at @ASU if he decides to fully matriculate,” Gosar wrote.

The Chicago Tribune reported last week that Rittenhouse was interested in living on campus and studying either nursing or law in Arizona. Kenosha Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger, who prosecuted the Rittenhouse case, told the Tribune that wherever the exonerated defendant goes, his past will follow.

“He would be wise to remember that being found not guilty by a jury is not the same thing as being innocent,” Binger said. “Indeed, no one can ignore the fact that he killed two people, and that’s a burden he will have to carry with him for the rest of his life.”

Rittenhouse has been lionized by right-wing media for gunning down BLM protesters during an Aug. 25, 2020 demonstration that followed the police shooting of a Black man in Kenosha, Wis. Rittenhouse, who has family in Kenosha, said he intended to serve as a medic during the unrest.