Kyle Rittenhouse claimed he'll attend Texas A&M University on a podcast, but university officials tell a different story, saying he hasn’t been admitted as a student.
In an appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show,” a conservative podcast, Rittenhouse — who 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 — proudly put on a Texas A&M cap and said he’d be attending the university.
“I’m going to be going there. It’s going to be awesome,” he said in the episode, which aired Friday on YouTube. “Beautiful campus, amazing people, amazing food.”
However, a university official said he won’t be attending the school.
“He has not been admitted as a student this summer or fall,” university spokesperson Kelly Brown said Monday afternoon.
Rittenhouse, 19, of Antioch, Illinois, tweeted later Monday that he's set to enroll in the Blinn College District in Texas, which he equated with attendance at Texas A&M.
"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," he wrote. "I look forward to attending Blinn College District this year, a feeder school for Texas A&M. I’m excited to join Texas A&M in 2023!"
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.
"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."
On the podcast, Rittenhouse detailed how excited he was to attend college with hopes to become a pilot.
"It’s going to be an amazing experience where I can go and finally get an education,” he said. “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."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.
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.
