A group of college Republicans is raising money for Kyle Rittenhouse, the gunman suspected of killing 2 people in Kenosha
- College Republicans United (CRU), a student group at Arizona State University, has announced that it will raise money for the legal defense of Kyle Rittenhouse, the Associated Press reported.
- Rittenhouse is accused of shooting and killing two people and injuring another at an anti-police-brutality protest in Wisconsin on Tuesday.
- Members of College Republicans United believe the shootings were an act of self-defense, but ASU College Republicans, a separate group from the CRU, have called for an administrative investigation into the group and do not support the raising of defense funds.
A conservative student group at Arizona State University has announced that its members will raise money for the legal defense of Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old who has been accused of killing two people at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Associated Press reported.
On August 27, College Republicans United tweeted that half of all the funds it raises for the year will be dedicated to Rittenhouse's legal defense fund.
"He does not deserve to have his entire life destroyed because of the actions of violent anarchists during a lawless riot," the group says in the tweet.
As Business Insider previously reported, Rittenhouse is said to have traveled from Illinois to Wisconsin with a firearm on Tuesday and is accused of shooting and killing two people and injuring another at an anti-police-brutality protest that came in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
While the teen's attorney says he acted in self-defense, charges against Rittenhouse include first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, and first-degree reckless endangerment. In addition, he also faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of a deadly weapon while under the age of 18.
"Kenosha has devolved into anarchy because the authorities in charge of the city abandoned it. They stood back and watched Kenosha burn," the CRU website reads. "Kyle Rittenhouse is not a vigilante but a citizen who attempted to help in a city in chaos."
ASU College Republicans, a separate group from the CRU, have called for an administrative investigation into the group and do not support the raising of defense funds for Kyle Rittenhouse.
The student group did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
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