Arizona State University groups want Kyle Rittenhouse barred from school
Kyle Rittenhouse enters the courtroom to hear the verdicts in his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. Rittenhouse has been acquitted of all charges after pleading self-defense in the deadly Kenosha shootings that became a flashpoint in the nation’s debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice. The jury came back with its verdict afer close to 3 1/2 days of deliberation. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool)
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PHOENIX (WBTW) – Four groups at Arizona State University want Kyle Rittenhouse, who described himself during court proceedings as a student at the school, to be permanently kicked out of the institution.
Social media posts from Arizona State University’s Students for Justice in Palestine and Students for Socialism ASU call for the school to “withdraw” Rittenhouse. Two other organizations are also listed on the flyer.
One social media post by student groups calls Rittenhouse – who fatally shot two people and wounded a third during an August 2020 protest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake – a “murderer” and “killer.” Rittenhouse was acquitted on all charges when a jury said that he acted in self-defense. The groups are also calling for the university to release a statement against him, and redirect funding from the campus police department to help the multicultural center.
Rittenhouse was previously enrolled in online classes at the university as a non-degree-seeking student studying nursing, according to KPNX. He said he dropped his two classes at Arizona State University because of the pressure of the trial. He wants to pick those two classes back up and complete them, and then go back to ASU in person and finish his degree.
A university spokesperson told Nexstar Monday that Rittenhouse has not gone through the admissions process and “records show that he is not currently enrolled in any classes at ASU.”
Students for Socialism ASU will make signs Monday at 6 p.m. and will hold a rally at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the post.
In a statement to Fox News, a spokesperson for Students for Socialism ASU said the goal is to let the university know that students don’t feel safe with Rittenhouse admitted to the university.
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, could have gotten life in prison if found guilty on the most serious charge, first-degree intentional homicide, or what some other states call first-degree murder.
In an interview with NewsNation, Rittenhouse said he doesn’t regret defending himself, but if he could go back, he wouldn’t have gone to the protest that night.
Rittenhouse had also been charged with possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, a misdemeanor. But Judge Bruce Schroeder threw out that charge before jury deliberations after the defense argued that the Wisconsin law did not apply to the long-barreled rifle used by Rittenhouse.
The Associated Press and NewsNation contributed to this report.