Nearly a year ago Kyle Rittenhouse’s speech was interrupted by an angry mob of protesting students. He will be returning to the University of Memphis Wednesday night to discuss the Second Amendment as well as his controversial trial in 2021.
Mathew Hoffmann, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom and the University of Memphis chapter of Turning Point USA, said that after the university reached a settlement to provide Rittenhouse adequate security this time around, they invited him back to speak.
Hoffmann stated that “the bottom line of universities can’t allow hostile students or other people to stop speakers they don’t like.” This is enshrined by Tennessee law as well as the First Amendment. He was forced to shorten his speech by the mob, leaving him unable to convey his message.
ADF intervened on behalf of Rittenhouse and TPUSA in October and sent a letter demanding that the university reschedule and reimburse TPUSA for the unconstitutional fee they were forced to pay when the event shut down. It was rescheduled, but the university refused to refund $1,600 for “security that stood by and let the mob shut down the event.”
They did alter their assessment of security fees. Hoffmann stated, “The university committed to make a statement in advance about respect dialogue, and that disruptions will not be tolerated.”
Rittenhouse, who had shot two dead and injured a third in unrest on August 25, 2020 in Kenosha in a highly-publicized case of 2021, was found not guilty in all five counts. The defense attorneys for Rittenhouse argued that he was acting in self-defense following an attack. Both the deceased, Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, had criminal records. They included allegations of child molestation, domestic abuse, and disorderly behavior.
