Having been admitted as an online student to Arizona State University earlier this fall, Kyle Rittenhouse is reportedly no longer enrolled in classes there.
Rittenhouse said while on trial that he was studying nursing at ASU, but a spokesperson for the college later told the Arizona Republic that while Rittenhouse had enrolled as a non-degree-seeking online student before his trial began, he was not enrolled in ASU's Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation.
Last week, the Chicago Tribune reported that Rittenhouse began ASU's online program on Oct. 13, just weeks before his homicide trial started, and that he would like to re-enroll in classes and live on campus now that he has been acquitted.
Rittenhouse, however, is no longer enrolled in any courses at ASU that are scheduled to end this week, university officials announced Monday.
The 18-year-old was recently cleared of all charges against him after shooting and killing two men and injuring another in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020.
Rittenhouse has received mixed reactions from the ASU student body since his trial, with some raising donations for him and others protesting his possible attendance.
College Republicans United, a conservative student group at ASU, has voiced support for Rittenhouse several times since the Aug. 25, 2020, shootings in Kenosha. The group announced two days after the shootings that they planned to raise and donate funds to help cover Rittenhouse's legal costs.
Half of all funds collected this semester for Republicans United will be donated to 17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse legal defense fund. He does not deserve to have his entire life destroyed because of the actions of violent anarchists during a lawless riothttps://t.co/vD7obvkcaI pic.twitter.com/2ZQN2OORmj
— 𝕮ollege 𝕽epublicans 𝖀nited (@ASU_CRU) August 27, 2020
According to the group's website, CRU donated over $14,000 for Rittenhouse's attorney fees and they are now accepting donations to help Rittenhouse "sue the media for malpractice, libel, and defamation."
Half of all funds collected for the rest of the year will be donated to the Kyle Rittenhouse lawsuit against the media. - We hope this action will teach a lesson to those who profit from lies and that Kyle has a comfortable life from this ordeal. https://t.co/vD7obvBNzi
— 𝕮ollege 𝕽epublicans 𝖀nited (@ASU_CRU) November 19, 2021
Following the initial announcement of CRU's fundraiser for Rittenhouse, ASU responded on Twitter, saying "While there is no policy prohibiting student groups from raising funds for an effort such as this, it is not an effort endorsed or supported by the university."
Students for Socialism, a leftist ASU student group, announced on Twitter that a rally will be held Wednesday, Dec. 1 to request that school officials keep Rittenhouse from attending as a student. Other campus groups supporting the rally include Students for Justice in Palestine, the Multicultural Solidarity Coalition and the Mexican American student group MEChA de ASU.
In their joint statement, the groups called Rittenhouse "racist" and a "blood-thirsty murderer" and demanded that ASU leaders release a statement denouncing white supremacy.
