The cherub-faced darling of the gundamentalist movement, Kyle Rittenhouse, came to speak at ETSU on Thursday. It was at the request of the group Turning Point USA, a conservative organization committed to spreading right-wing politics at schools and universities.

There is often a distinct difference between the backlash from conservatives when a left-leaning speaker has an appearance at a school and what happens with liberals when a Republican comes to speak.

That’s because when a liberal has a speaking engagement, conservatives are annoyed. They don’t feel threatened or anything. They just don’t like the person.

When a right-winger speaks at a university, it’s very different.

The demographics of a university skew pretty young, for example. Sometimes students are compelled to see the speaker at the risk of academic consequences. Other times, it’s someone whose views are so abhorrent that it actually hurts the students there.

Students at the ETSU protest were, indeed, aggrieved.

“It’s very frustrating we’re having to be out here for something that is to me an obvious answer of injustice,” said Sydney Breiner. Another student, Carleigh Blaylock, added “And the fact that he’s now going to speak on the lies when he murdered two people at a Black Lives Matter protest… There’s just something extremely wrong about that, unethical, just disgusting.”

Lakie Derrick, the president of TPUSA and the promoter of the event, said that protesters had a right to be there, but she wished they would listen. “I do wish that they would just come in with an open mind, ask questions, and maybe even have their mind changed. And, if not, air their grievances either way, really that’s what we’re here to do,” she said.

I’m not certain what anyone expected Rittenhouse to say that would have changed anyone’s mind. For that matter, it’s hard to imagine him saying anything that wasn’t just the same gun-friendly narrative he’s been promoting since his acquittal.

He came right out with the same old story:

They put me on trial for defending myself and sometimes I think, ‘What would have happened if they killed me? Would they have prosecuted the people who killed me if I died?’ And I don’t think they would have.

But the fact is, Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha that fateful night, gun in hand, fully expecting to engage with protesters, and ready to kill them if he felt threatened.

Of course, there would have been no threat had he just stayed home.

Then there was the silliest part where Rittenhouse tried to justify why he’s qualified to talk about gun rights and give talks like the one he did at ETSU. Kyle said, “Well, I’m actually a political consultant on Texas gun rights. I’m a writer for them and I have written articles and I researched gun laws recently.”

What? A political consultant? LMAO. I guess anyone can call themselves a consultant, but who actually pays money to consult with Killer Kyle? What information can he provide that hundreds of other consultants can’t? Kyle is 21…just turned 21, and has no formal education. He dropped out of high school when he was 15, in 2018, two years before that awful night in Kenosha. He claims he dropped out because he was being bullied, and there is no information online whether he ever obtained a GED.

Of course Kyle simply claims the end of his high school career was “robbed from him” because of what he did in Kenosha. Truth is he dropped out two years prior, and was working part-time as a lifeguard at the time he killed the men in Kenosha.

Unfortunately, the end of my high school career was robbed from me. I didn't have the time other students get to properly prepare for the future.

I look forward to attending Blinn College District this year, a feeder school for Texas A&M.

I'm excited to join Texas A&M in 2023!

— Kyle Rittenhouse (@ThisIsKyleR) June 6, 2022

And the rest of his claim, that he has “written articles and I researched gun laws recently”, what does that even mean? It sounds like he just made something up because “sitting in my mother’s basement, smoking my vape and playing video games” doesn’t sound as cool.

Protesters at the school have no plans to end their demonstration, even after his speaking event has passed.

Watch the WCYB coverage of the event: