University Denies Kyle Rittenhouse's Claim That He's Going To Texas A&M

Kyle Rittenhouse said he will be attending Texas A&M University, but university officials revealed that he will in fact not be in attendance. The 19-year-old announced during an episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, posted on Saturday (June 4) that he would attend the university.

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Rittenhouse was acquitted after he killed two men and wounded a third during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, decrying the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer. He argued that it was an act of self-defense. A jury later acquitted Rittenhouse on five charges, including first-degree homicide.

In an appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show,” a conservative podcast, Rittenhouse said, "I’m going to be going there. It’s going to be awesome. Beautiful campus, amazing people, amazing food." 

"It’s going to be an amazing experience where I can go and finally get an education," he added. "Over the past six months, I’ve been out having fun, living my life being a free man. Now it's time to go and get an education, get good grades, and be successful in life."

However, a university spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News on Sunday (June 5) that Rittenhouse would not be attending. The spokesperson said: "He is not a student this summer and has not been admitted as a student this fall."

Rittenhouse then went to Twitter to correct himself on Monday, saying that he is planning to attend Blinn College, a two-year public college in Brenham before going to Texas A&M.

"Unfortunately, the end of my high school career was robbed from me," he tweeted on Monday. "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."

A Blinn College representative confirmed that Rittenhouse has applied to attend the open-enrollment system, which regularly sends students to Texas A&M. Rittenhouse hasn't selected a major yet. His spokesman said he is leaning toward studying aviation after his year in the Blinn system.

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"That's a done deal. He's already signed a lease for his housing, and he's excited to attend the main campus of A&M in [fall] 2023," said the representative, David Hancock. "He's in the process of completing his private pilot's license right now. So he's not quite sure what he's going major in, but he's looking toward the field of aviation."

Rittenhouse made national headlines during the protests in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020. He had traveled from his home to Kenosha, about 20 miles away, armed with a rifle, claiming he sought to protect property during the unrest. He fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26. Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, was injured. 

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During his high-profile trial, Rittenhouse argued that he opened fire in self-defense. He was acquitted Nov. 19 of five felony charges, including reckless homicide and intentional homicide in Rosenbaum's and Huber's deaths.

Texas A&M isn't the first school to deny claims by Rittenhouse. After he testified that he was studying nursing at Arizona State University, a spokesperson said Rittenhouse “has not gone through the admissions process” and isn’t enrolled in its Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation.

He was, however, in the university’s online program, in which prospective students often take general education classes to prepare for applying to the university, the spokesperson said.

Rittenhouse has spoken out several times on conservative programs since his acquittal.

He said in an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that he supports the Black Lives Matter movement, adding, “I’m not a racist person.” He has also said it was “probably not the best idea” to have traveled to Kenosha the night of the protest.

“We’re going to make the media pay for what they did to me. They made it hard for me to live a normal life. It’s hard for me to go anywhere without security … I’m afraid I’ll never be able to work or get a job because an employer may not hire me,” he added.

Blinn College has five campuses in Texas and is an open-enrollment school – meaning that all students are accepted. Mr Rittenhouse said he would move to Texas at the end of this month.

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The Texas A&M website includes Blinn College in its list of transfer options. In 2020, Blinn College wrote on its site that “Blinn’s 42-hour core curriculum transfers to any public college or university in Texas. Fifty-three percent of Blinn transfer students continue their studies at Texas A&M University”.