On Feb. 1, the Young Democratic Socialists of America at ETSU held a rally in Borchuck Plaza protesting the upcoming appearance of Kyle Rittenhouse.

In August 2020, Rittenhouse, 17-years-old at the time, traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to protest the civil unrest that had erupted. When he arrived, Rittenhouse was armed with an AR-15 which he used to protest the unrest. He then used that weapon to fatally shoot two men. In November 2021, Rittenhouse was acquitted in a Kenosha court of the two murder charges out of self-defense. His acquittal sparked political controversy leading citizens to believe that he should never have been charged and some to think he should still be charged today.

A protestor holds a sign reading “fascists not welcome here.” (Connor Lute/East Tennessean).

“The purpose of today’s rally is to get a lot of people informed about Kyle Rittenhouse,” said YDSA chair Logan Taylor. “It’s dangerous to platform somebody of his background on our campus, especially during Black History Month.”

The rally garnered about twenty members in Borchuck Plaza who were chanting “No Rittenhouse, no KKK, no IDF in the USA.” Taylor and members of the Western North Carolina Party for Social Liberation discussed how Rittenhouse’s appearance is meant to divide students across campus while spreading “anti-intellectual ideas.”

“Turning Point USA makes Rittenhouse out to be a patriot, a protector of rights, well he went looking for trouble and he found it,” said Taylor.

Logan Taylor (left) speaks to the crowd of protestors. (Connor Lute/East Tennessean)

Other protestors spoke of their concerns whether they would be harmed like Rittenhouse had harmed others. They further spoke to how “the same people who platform pro-life [ideologies] are platforming a murderer.”

To counter Turning Point USA’s “Rittenhouse Recap,” YDSA will be holding a rally and march at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 in the Quad.

“[Today’s rally] is just hyping up and building up to what we’re going to be doing next week with our protests and march on the day of the event.”

“We’re going to have a rally outside the Quad center and have a lot of speakers out, and then we’re going to march right over to the event and show what collective action can do,” said Taylor. “I’m going to be speaking some, the [Western North Carolina] Party for Social Liberation is gonna be coming and the Washington County Democratic Chair is going to speak as well.”

TPUSA president Lakie Derrick made an appearance while watching the rally take place.

“None of the leftists here on campus will actually have a good conversation,” said Derrick. “This event is meant to educate students on everything that happened surrounding the Kyle Rittenhouse event in Kenosha.”

“We’re going to have [the event] completely controlled and we’re ready to foster conversations, but we can’t do that if we don’t have two wiling parties ready to have conversations.”

Derrick further stated that she invites students to show up to TPUSA’s event even if they disagree.

For more information regarding the “Rittenhouse Recap” visit the Instagram page @tpusaetsu.

For more information on YDSA, visit their Instagram @ydsa_etsu.

 

Author