Campus Organization Turning Point USA has invited controversial speaker Kyle Rittenhouse to the University of Memphis again in February, almost a year after Rittenhouse was rushed off stage.
According to the TigerZone app, Kyle Rittenhouse is expected to speak on February 26th at Meeman Journalism Building room 100 at 7 pm. This space is a different and smaller venue than where he spoke last year.
No members of the TPUSA campus chapter, Rittenhouse, or TPUSA themselves have made any posts about it, and the post announcing him had grammatical errors.
The event description is as follows: "TPUSA invites Kyle Rittenhouse to talk about his experiences and the importance (of) our second amendment rights."
Kyle Rittenhouse grew to fame as a 17-year-old after he shot three Black Lives Matter protesters, killing two. Rittenhouse was later found not guilty in the shooting.
Last October, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) requested that the University of Memphis allow Rittenhouse a second event without interruption after his first trip to the UofM was cut short due to student protests, which the ADF compared to a “mob.”
Turning Point USA founder, Charlie Kirk, also threatened a lawsuit against the UofM back in March of 2024. However, no lawsuit has been filed yet.
“Kyle Rittenhouse has been invited by the Registered Student Organization Turning Point USA - Memphis. The event is not sponsored by Student Leadership and Involvement or the University of Memphis,” said the Director for Student Leadership and Involvement Director Dr. MK Tyler.
The event was not only moved to a smaller venue but a venue that would put Kyle and other TPUSA members at more risk than Rose Theater, where Rittenhouse spoke last year. While Rose Theatre has direct access to a road to leave and many exits, Meeman Journalism doesn’t have many of these exits, and assuming a crowd formed, you would have to go through crowds to leave or enter, unlike Rose Theater.
The Helmsman reached out to the Journalism and Strategic Media department. The department chair, Dr. Matthew Haught, said, “Journalism and Strategic Media has no connection to the Rittenhouse visit.”
The Daily Helmsman reached out to the local chapter head and advisor of Turning Point USA but did not receive any response.
