Clemson’s Turning Point USA chapter is set to host anti-Black Lives Matter and pro-Second Amendment activist Kyle Rittenhouse at the Strom Thurmond Institute on April 25 at 7 p.m.

The now activist initially gained publicity when he was tried at age 17 for killing two people and injuring another with an AR-15-style rifle during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Aug. 25, 2020. 

Rittenhouse assisted a local militia group looking to protect businesses from supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement. He was later acquitted in a nationally publicized trial for “acting in self-defense,” as argued by his defense.

The 21-year-old has since turned his contentious exposure into a platform to speak out regarding gun rights and his opposition to Black Lives Matter, according to the TPUSA website.

Rittenhouse has traveled across various college campuses, providing his segment, “The Rittenhouse Recap,” to universities like East Tennessee State University, the University of Memphis and Western Kentucky University. 

Recently, Memphis University was one college campus that erupted in protest following a questionnaire session with Rittenhouse. The outburst resulted in a premature ending to the event. 

This year, Clemson TPUSA chapter events on campus have gone without any severe contention, hosting speakers like Ben Carson and Riley Gaines without significant outrage. 

However, the Rittenhouse event received backlash from the Clemson National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); the group responded to TPUSA by releasing a press statement denouncing the upcoming event. 

“Hosting Kyle Rittenhouse under the guise of upholding the Second Amendment and ‘exposing lies’ about the Black Lives Matter movement only serves to perpetuate harmful stereotypes… this event represents a gross misstep and an affront to the values of inclusivity, justice, and equality we uphold as a community,” said Clemson NAACP on Instagram on April 8. 

Clemson University Police Department officers and security details will be in attendance at the event to provide a safe atmosphere for any of the attendees of “The Rittenhouse Recap.”