Kyle Rittenhouse recently stated in a podcast that he is attending Texas A&M; however, university officials say that this is not the case and that Rittenhouse has not been accepted as a student at their university.
In his interview on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast, Rittenhouse took great pride in donning a Texas A&M cap and announcing that he would be enrolling at the university.
During the show, the 19-year-old remarked that he thought it would be a great experience.
“Beautiful school, wonderful people, amazing cuisine,” he commented.
However, a representative from the university stated that he was not enrolled there.
According to a statement by university spokesperson Kelly Brown on Monday afternoon to NBC News, “he has not been admitted as a student this summer or fall.”
In response to the university statement, Rittenhouse tweeted that he would be attending Blinn College and that he was excited to join Texas A&M in 2023.
“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,” Rittenhouse wrote. “I look forward to attending Blinn College this year, a feeder school for Texas A&M. I’m excited to join Texas A&M in 2023!”
During the podcast, Rittenhouse discussed how enthusiastic he was about going to college.
“It will be a great experience that I can finally obtain an education, so I’m looking forward to it,” he commented. “Throughout the last half a year, I’ve been out having a good time and living my life as a free man. The time has come to pursue an education, work hard in school, and position yourself for success.”
Other educational institutions have also refuted Rittenhouse’s enrollment claims. After testifying that he was enrolled in the nursing program at Arizona State University in 2021, a spokesperson for the university stated, “Rittenhouse has not gone through the admissions process and is not currently a student in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation.”
According to a spokeswoman for the institution, he was enrolled in the online program at ASU, where prospective students typically take education courses to prepare for attending the university.
Rittenhouse garnered national attention on August 25, 2020, after an altercation between demonstrators protesting the wrongful killing of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha police officer.
On the day of the protests, Rittenhouse left his home in Antioch, Illinois, and traveled approximately 20 miles to Kenosha. This is where he claimed he wished to safeguard property while the surrounding violence was occurring.
While defending the property, Rittenhouse, armed with a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 — an AR-15-style rifle –shot Anthony Huber, 26, and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, both of whom later died from their wounds. Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, also shot by Rittenhouse, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and later recovered from his wounds.
During his high-profile trial, Rittenhouse maintained that he had fired his weapon in self-defense. On November 19, the jury found Rittenhouse not guilty of all five felony charges against him in connection with the deaths of Rosenbaum and Huber.