Protesters participate in call-and-response chants on Wednesday outside Downing Student Union's Nite Class in response to Kyle Rittenhouse’s speaking event with Turning Point USA. (Photo by Brett Phelps)
Kyle Rittenhouse, known for shooting three protesters and killing two at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020, made an appearance on campus Wednesday after being invited by the WKU chapter of Turning Point USA. According to the event’s website page, he spoke on “the importance of the Second Amendment and the lies of (Black Lives Matter).” Students and members of the wider Bowling Green community spoke out against and in favor of his presence on campus. The Talisman photographers captured the tone in and around the event.
Louisville freshman Malick Diallo leans back against the glass of an internal office window on Wednesday during a sit-in protest at the Wetherby Administration Building on campus. The same evening, Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot three men — two fatally — during a 2020 protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, appeared on campus as part of “The Rittenhouse Recap,” a speaking tour hosted by conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA. Members of the university administration made statements refusing to condemn Rittenhouse or censor the event in favor of institutional neutrality, prompting outrage from some. “Most of (Rittenhouse’s) ‘free speech’ is conducted as hate speech,” said Diallo, a member of For the People, a student advocacy group formed in the wake of the university response to Rittenhouse’s appearance. “We’re not being recognized as people.” (Photo by Arthur H. Trickett-Wile)
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Joelle Burum, from Dickson, Tennessee, shouts at Centennial Mall during a protest before the “Rittenhouse Recap” hosted by WKU’s Turning Point USA chapter on Wednesday. Burum said she was attending the protest to represent the Black community on campus. (Photo by Preston Jenkins) Bowling Green junior Malaika Ngoy (center) shouts during a call-and-response chant on Wednesday during a protest outside Downing Student Union’s Nite Class. Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot three men — two fatally — during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was scheduled to appear on campus as part of “The Rittenhouse Recap,” a speaking tour hosted by conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA. “I’m here to stand with my people,” Ngoy said. “(The university) inviting a murderer like Kyle Rittenhouse to speak at our campus is a huge slap in our face.” (Photo by Arthur H. Trickett-Wile)
Metropolis, Illinois, junior Isaiah Hart protests against Kyle Rittenhouse speaking at Downing Student Union on Wednesday evening. (photo by Gabriel Milby)
Rochester, New York, senior Payton Petkus joins the protests outside Downing Student Union before the Rittenhouse Recap on Wednesday. (Photo by Adin Parks)
Hendersonville, Tennessee, sophomore Patrick Echols chants a protest slogan on Wednesday during a protest outside Downing Student Union’s Nite Class. Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot three men — two fatally — during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was scheduled to appear on campus as part of “The Rittenhouse Recap,” a speaking tour hosted by conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA. Echols said he disapproved of Rittenhouse speaking on campus and of Turning Point USA as an organization. “They are fueled by hate,” Echols said. (Photo by Arthur H. Trickett-Wile)Campbellsville sophomore Myricle Gholston, NAACP juvenile justice chair, uses a bullhorn to speak in protest against “The Rittenhouse Recap” on Wednesday outside Downing Student Union. Rittenhouse was invited to speak about “the lies of BLM” by the WKU chapter of Turning Point USA. (Photo by Shannon Moritz)Protesters participate in call-and-response chants on Wednesday outside Downing Student Union’s Nite Class in response to Kyle Rittenhouse’s speaking event with Turning Point USA. (Photo by Brett Phelps)
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Students inside Minton Hall watch the protests against the WKU chapter of Turning Point USA as demonstrators chant outside Downing Student Union’s Nite Class on Wednesday. (Photo by Preston Jenkins)
Campbellsville sophomore Myricle Gholston, the juvenile justice chair for a local chapter of the NAACP, protests before the “Rittenhouse Recap” event held Wednesday outside Downing Student Union. “If you want change, you have to stand for change yourself,” Gholston said. “You can no longer depend on the majority to be the voice for minorities.” (Photo by Brodie Curtsinger)
Louisville freshman broadcasting major Jordan Nunnally shouts on Wednesday during a protest outside Downing Student Union’s Nite Class. Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot three men — two fatally — during 2020 Black Lives Matter civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was scheduled to appear on campus as part of “The Rittenhouse Recap,” a speaking tour hosted by conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA. “I have never a been part of a movement before, but coming here (to the protest) has inspired me to want to make change,” Nunnally said. (Photo by Arthur H. Trickett-Wile)
Senior Imanii Giles protests with a crowd against the presence of Kyle Rittenhouse as the light of her megaphone beams back at her. The protest took place Wednesday outside Downing Student Union during Rittenhouse’s speech. “I’m tired of the university dismissing us,” Giles said. (Photos by Cameron McKinney)Members of the Bowling Green Freedom Walkers march around campus chanting messages including, “No justice, no peace,” and “Whose streets? Our streets” as part of their protest against Kyle Rittenhouse speaking on campus on Wednesday. (Photo by Preston Jenkins)Kyle Rittenhouse is escorted into Downing Student Union to speak at the “Rittenhouse Recap” on Wednesday. (Photo by Adin Parks)Kyle Rittenhouse demonstrates the OK hand gesture on Wednesday in rebuttal to an audience member question referencing a photo of Rittenhouse at a bar in Wisconsin in 2021 with Proud Boy members. The audience member questioned if Rittenhouse had ties to white nationalists. Rittenhouse claimed that at the time, he didn’t know what the gesture meant. “I had no idea who the Proud Boys were … I was busy with other things,” said Rittenhouse. According to the Anti-Defamation League, the OK hand gesture references white power, with the three fingers forming a “W” and the loop forming a “P.” During “The Rittenhouse Recap” in DSU’s Nite Class, Rittenhouse recounted his story of the night he killed two people and injured a third, lobbying for increased gun rights. (Photo by Brett Phelps)Kyle Rittenhouse’s service animal, Milo, accompanies him Wednesday evening at “The Rittenhouse Report” in DSU’s Nite Class. (Photo by Brett Phelps)
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Local law enforcement and community members stand outside Downing Student Union during the WKU Turning Point USA’s “Rittenhouse Recap” event on Wednesday. (Photo by Preston Jenkins)Minton Hall residents watch from their dorms as protesters continue to showcase their disapproval for Kyle Rittenhouse Wednesday night after “The Rittenhouse Report” had concluded. Rittenhouse was invited to speak by WKU’s chapter of Turning Point USA. Protests started at roughly 6 p.m. and lasted until roughly 8:30 p.m. (Photo by Brett Phelps)Nashville senior Kenzie Price (left) and Bowling Green Freedom Walker Jennifer Robinson protest Wednesday night after Kyle Rittenhouse’s speaking engagement, “The Rittenhouse Report,” outside of DSU’s Nite Class. “I came to support my people,” Price said. Robinson said that she was shocked and ashamed at the event that took place. (Photo by Brett Phelps)Freedom Walkers President Summer Shannon (from left), protestor Kelly Benton and counter-protestor Justin Reesy clash amid a crowd of protestors for and against Kyle Rittenhouse outside DSU. Benton chanted “Black Lives Matter” while Reesy chanted “All lives matter” before the two separated without starting a physical interaction. The protest took place Wednesday in front of Downing Student Union. (Photo by Cameron McKinney)Glasgow freshman Jaylin Heater leads a chant to protesters gathered at South Lawn after the Rittenhouse Recap on Wednesday. (Photo by Adin Parks)Louisville senior Avery Wells speaks to convince the crowd of protesters on South Lawn after “The Rittenhouse Report” on Wednesday Evening to vote for new members of WKU’s Student Government Association. Wells does not believe that the current SGA accurately represents the student body. He stated that the SGA members were “flipping hamburgers and having a kickball tournament” instead of supporting their fellow students. “We’re over hear fighting for our lives, and fighting for our space on this campus to feel like we can be seen and feel like we have voiced that we are powerful and to be heard,” said Wells. (Photo by Brett Phelps)
