Image Credit: @Mighty990KWAM / X
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
An event at the University of Memphis featuring conservative activist Kyle Rittenhouse was disrupted and conservative event organizers were harassed by protestors (identified as BLM members) on Wednesday evening.
Rittenhouse was speaking on campus at an event sponsored by the U of M’s chapter of Turning Point USA, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of conservative politics and freedom.
He was acquitted of charges related to the 2020 shootings of two people and injury of another in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse argued self-defense after he was violently attacked by a mob of rioters.
The group brought Rittenhouse in to speak about self-defense and the Second Amendment. As he began to speak, protesters inside the venue began shouting over Rittenhouse.
Local media reported that the “majority of students protested his arrival on the campus, forcing Rittenhouse to leave the event early…. he appeared on the stage for only 30 minutes.”
In response, Rittenhouse tweeted, “No one forced me to leave the stage… The event was scheduled for 30 minutes and I was on stage for 30 minutes.”
After the close of the event, protesters chased Rittenhouse and other attendees as they were being escorted by state troopers.
TPUSA says the university took “unprecedented actions to undermine our event” before it even began. Just hours before the event, ticket holders were notified that their previously reserved tickets would no longer be valid. Everyone was forced to rebook tickets for the event.
Andrew Kolvet, TPUSA spokesperson, says the group “gathered credible information” that university officials had leaked new ticketing information to protestors so they would be able to claim the seats before others had a chance.
TPUSA headquarters sent a message to WREG saying, “Attempts to cancel or censor events like these only serve to stifle the exchange of ideas or limit the intellectual diversity to which students are exposed.”
Earlier this year, the group faced similar backlash when Rittenhouse was booked as a speaker on the campus of East Tennessee State University, although protesters at that engagement did not disrupt the event itself, instead protesting outside of the venue.
