Arizona State University Group Faces Backlash For Raising Money For Kenosha Gunman
A Republican student group at Arizona State University is getting slammed once news got out that they were raising money to donate to the 17-year-old gunman who fatally shot two Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin and wounded a third on Tuesday (August 25).
College Republicans United announced this week that half of the funds raised during the semester will go towards paying for the legal defense of Kyle Rittenhouse, reports the Associated Press.
“He does not deserve to have his entire life destroyed because of the actions of violent anarchists during a lawless riot,” the group wrote in a tweet.
In a statement on Saturday night, the ASU College Republicans denounced College Republicans United as a “radical, far-right extremist group.” They’re also calling for an investigation of the group.
Kenosha authorities say Rittenhouse shot and killed two men: Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz. A GoFundMe campaign has raised $43,000 for Grosskreutz’s medical bills and $150,000 for Huger’s funeral costs. The victims were anti-racism, Black Lives Matter demonstrators protesting in the wake of Jacob Blake’s killing by Kenosha police. A Christian crowdsourcing site has also raised $250,000 for Rittenhouse’s legal fees, according to the Washington Post.
Rittenhouse told police he was trying to protect a business and acted in self-defense. He has since been arrested and charged with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted homicide. after fleeing Wisconsin after the shooting.
ASU officials said in a statement, according to the Associated Press, that the school cannot prohibit a group from fundraising, however they don’t endorse their actions.
