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Kyle Rittenhouse: Arizona State conservative group accused of racist comments slammed over funds for shooter

The College Republicans United group called into question the innocence of the victims and claimed Rittenhouse acted in self-defense

A Conservative student organization at the Arizona State University has come under fire after they announced that they would be accepting donations that will go towards the legal defense fund of Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who shot and killed two people at the Kenosha protests this past week.

Rittenhouse, 17, had driven from Illinois to Wisconsin in the wake of the unrest that had broken out in Kenosha over the police shooting of Jacob Blake allegedly armed with an AR-15 rifle and opened fire on a crowd of protesters, killing two and injuring one. He has since been charged with first-degree intentional homicide and five other offenses but has found support amongst those in the extreme right-wing.

College Republicans United (CRU), which split from the ASU College Republicans chapter in recent years, has been vocal in its backing of Rittenhouse and tweeted that it would be collecting money to help his legal fight. "Half of all funds collected this semester for Republicans United will be donated to 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse legal defense fund," the group announced. " He does not deserve to have his entire life destroyed because of the actions of violent anarchists during a lawless riot."

In the same tweet, they also called into question if the victims were innocent by claiming Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense and highlighted their criminal histories. "Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, was the first killed. Video allegedly showed him chasing teen shooter & throwing something at him. Rosenbaum was a registered sex offender for a sex crime involving a child," they wrote.

"Anthony Huber, 26, was shot & killed in Kenosha, Wisc, at the BLM riot," they continued. "He was filmed chasing down the armed teen and hitting him when he was on the ground with a skateboard. He has a criminal history that includes charges of battery & repeat domestic abuse. The third who was shot (& survived) was Gaige Grosskreutz, 26. He's a member of the People's Revolution Movement. He was filmed chasing after the teen w/a pistol. He was shot at close-range in the upper arm. He has a criminal record that includes being intoxicated & armed w/a gun."

On their fundraising page, CRU went on to claim that Rittenhouse had "traveled into Kenosha with other volunteers to clean graffiti in the city and to provide private security to businesses that had experienced arson the day before."

While ASU officials said that the university was aware of the tweet and the fundraising campaign, they did not have an official comment on it. The ASU College Republicans, however, have released a statement condemning their "radical, far-right extremist" counterparts and called for an administrative investigation into the group.

"We do not associate with nor condone their recent actions involving contributing to the legal defense fund of a man who shot and killed several Americans in Wisconsin," they said.

The ASU College Republicans also highlighted online activity from the CRU which, according to their statement, showed "blatantly racist and antisemitic conduct" amongst other complaints. They were likely referring to materials which leaked online last year that showed some group leaders making racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic comments, and which ultimately forced CRU to issue an apology.