Kyle Rittenhouse says at trial he’s studying nursing at ASU; school responds
Nov 10, 2021, 1:11 PM | Updated: 1:13 pm
PHOENIX – Kyle Rittenhouse said he was studying nursing at Arizona State University while testifying Wednesday at his Wisconsin murder trial, but the school said that wasn’t exactly the case.
When asked if he was enrolled in studies after graduating from high school, Rittenhouse replied from the witness stand, “I’m a college student studying nursing at Arizona State University.”
Rittenhouse’s reference to ASU was mentioned in multiple national reports about the trial, including from The New York Times, CNN and ABC News.
When asked for confirmation, an ASU spokesman said Rittenhouse started a non-degree online program last month, but the 18-year-old hasn’t gone through the university’s admissions process and wasn’t enrolled at its college of nursing.
“ASU can confirm that Mr. Rittenhouse enrolled as a non-degree seeking ASU Online student for the session that started Oct. 13, 2021, which allows students access to begin taking classes as they prepare to seek admission into a degree program at the university,” Jay Thorne, ASU assistant vice president of media relations, said in a statement.
Rittenhouse is on trial on charges of killing two men and wounding a third during unrest that erupted in the summer of 2020, when he was 17, over the wounding of a Black man by a white Kenosha police officer. He could get life in prison if convicted of the most serious charges against him.
The case against Rittenhouse, who said in court Wednesday he was defending himself, has divided Americans over whether he was a patriot taking a stand against lawlessness or a vigilante.
ASU was previously connected to the case in August 2020, when a student group at the school called College Republicans United said it was raising funds for Rittenhouse’s legal defense.
An unrelated GOP student group, ASU College Republicans, denounced College Republicans United as a “radical, far-right extremist group.”
On Monday, College Republicans United tweeted that it contributed more than $14,000 toward Rittenhouse’s attorney fees last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
