Kyle Rittenhouse, the then 17-year-old who gained national attention for shooting three men, two fatally, during civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, made a stop at ETSU on Feb. 8 in the Brinkley Center Ballroom.

The event was hosted by the student-run Turning Point USA at ETSU. Rittenhouse’s appearance stirred a frenzy of debates, both inside and outside campus, with many students protesting outside of the event center. In response to the event, ETSU released a statement saying the event was not sponsored by the university and canceling it would infringe on First Amendment rights.

Rittenhouse began his talk by giving the audience his recollection from the fateful night back in 2020.

Kyle Rittenhouse stands in front of a podium in the Brinkley Center Ballroom (Seth Harrell/East Tennessean).

“August 25, 2020, at about 11:50 at night, I was called to go to a gas station, to put out a fire. I was called to come put out a fire at this car, so I grabbed this fire extinguisher, and I was running down the road to this place called Car Source. I get down there, I get to this [Chevrolet Silverado] Duramax, and there’s this guy standing there, this guy takes a step towards me. I turned to get out of there, and this is where Mr. [Joseph] Rosenbaum, the first guy who attacked me from whom I had to defend myself against, comes running out from behind that Duramax, where they awaited to ambush me.

“He chased me down, I was alone, and I was by myself in the middle of the night, trying to get away from him. He chased me down, grabbing my gun and left myself no choice but to protect myself from him,” Rittenhouse said. The shooting proved fatal for Rosenbaum, 36.

Rittenhouse said he was later chased and abused by rioters right after firing a fatal shot at Rosenbaum.

“Anthony Huber, he comes in for an attack, driving his skateboard into the back of my skull, pulling my gun away from me, I defended myself from him,” he said. Huber, 26, was also killed. Gaige Grosskreutz, was also shot by Rittenhouse, but survived.

Rittenhouse recounted how he, moments later, was told by Kenosha police to leave the scene and go home. He would later turn himself into the local Antioch, Illinois, Police Department, which was about 21 miles away from where the protest turned riots began in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse would be acquitted of all charges in November 2021. Civil litigation is ongoing against Rittenhouse, as well as the police and county sheriff’s departments in Kenosha.

Most questions were cordial during the concluding Q&A portion of the event.

Before the event began, protesters from the Young Democratic Socialists of America at ETSU led a rally and march to the Brinkley Center. There were several speakers including YDSA chair Logan Taylor and Sylva Bruni, chair of the Washington County Democratic Party.

A protester marches while holding a sign that reads “KYLE, is it empowering to be the TOOL, or do you just feel USED?” (ShelC’ Black/East Tennessean)

“Right as we heard about it, we went ahead and started planning, we decided we wanted to do a march while spreading awareness across campus, specifically in regard to hate-speech,” said Samuel Thomas, communications director of YDSA at ETSU.

“In general, we’re going to keep an eye on any potential speakers coming to ETSU; it’s not something we take lightly, those ideas make our members and other students feel scared. As far as what we have planned in response, we are simply planning to have more fun with students and our members and have plans for a drag show later this semester, on top of holding a fundraising event known as ‘The Really Free Market’ where we will donate items of need to those who need them most.”

Lakie Derrick, president of TPUSA at ETSU, explained the decision to bring Rittenhouse to campus.

“Rittenhouse has a very important story that this area needs to be more aware about. He shows how the fake news media that perpetuated all these lies about him, wanting to give him a chance to cut off that misinformation, while also giving him a chance to share everything from his perspective.”