Chased In Memphis: Interview With Kyle Rittenhouse After Chaotic College Event
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — “Was that your first time getting swarmed?” I asked one of the Turning Point USA staffers. “Yes,” she replied, still trying to process what had just happened.
The staffer had been in the pickup truck BLM protesters tried to prevent from leaving after the Kyle Rittenhouse event at the University of Memphis ended. The only reason they were able to escape was due to the intervention of campus police and Tennessee state troopers. Now, the TPUSA chapter members, the staffers, Rittenhouse, his dog, and his security team were safe at a secondary location. Rittenhouse gave a private Q&A for the chapter, this time with no screeching interrupting him.
There was a lot of tension in the Home of the Blues leading up to the event, and while things were more or less fine considering the vitriol aimed at Rittenhouse during the event, when the Turning Point staffers and students were leaving the building, the BLM crowd turned into a mob, rushed past campus police, and chased after them.
Law enforcement were not ready for the exit plan as I was later told by one of the members that when he asked a Tennessee state trooper if they will escort them out, the reply was, “That’s up to you,” because it was initially believed campus police would be escorting them. But once the troopers saw the mob rushing towards building, they quickly formed a perimeter and everyone started to run.
After Rittenhouse was finished with the Q&A, I was able to interview him. While his story is one that I’m all too familiar with, having seen him defend himself and then covering the trial the following year, this was the first time I met him in person.
Rittenhouse admitted he scared coming to the University of Memphis.
“Because I knew I was coming to a hostile environment and I knew I was most likely going to be booed off stage. So my plan for that was if they don’t let me give a speech, I’mma roll right into Q&A. That’s what I did. We stopped the Q&A at a designated time because we could tell the crowd was getting more and more hostile the more I shared my story,” Rittenhouse said.