Kyle Rittenhouse – who was acquitted last year on charges related to a triple shooting resulting in two deaths during racial justice protests in Wisconsin – will not attend Texas A&M University as he has claimed, school officials said.
In an appearance on Friday on a conservative radio show, Rittenhouse said he would attend Texas A&M University and it would be “awesome”.
Speaking with show host Charlie Kirk, Rittenhouse put on a baseball hat featuring the A&M logo, mimicking a move commonly made by high school athletes announcing which university they will attend.
Referring to the Texas A&M nickname, Kirk said: “Wow, everybody, it’s a big deal. Right here on the Charlie Kirk show, Kyle Rittenhouse is announcing that he’s an Aggie.”
Rittenhouse said: “So, I’m going to be going there and it’s going to be awesome. Beautiful campus, amazing people, amazing food.”
Texas A&M told media outlets the 18-year-old had not been admitted for the fall or summer.
Rittenhouse “has not been admitted as a student”, a spokesperson, Kelly Brown, said in an email to the Guardian.
School representatives also told the Dallas Morning News and the Battalion, the Texas A&M student newspaper, that Rittenhouse was not admitted.
On Monday, Rittenhouse said he would not be attending Texas A&M. Instead, he will be attending Blinn College, a community college in Brenham, Texas.
“Unfortunately, the end of my high school career was robbed from me,” Rittenhouse wrote on Twitter. “I didn’t have the time other students get to properly prepare for the future.”
Blinn is an open enrollment college. Rittenhouse also said he looked forward to attending “a feeder school for Texas A&M” and was “excited” to join Texas A&M in 2023.
Richard Bray, a Blinn College representative, confirmed to the Guardian via email that Rittenhouse had applied but was not yet enrolled for any classes.
Rittenhouse also tweeted that he would be moving to Texas at the end of June.
Rittenhouse admitted killing two people in August 2020 after traveling from his home in Illinois to a demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. He maintained he was acting in self-defense and was acquitted at trial.
After his acquittal, Rittenhouse claimed to be taking nursing classes at Arizona State University. Amid outrage from ASU students, university officials said Rittenhouse was taking an online course meant for “non-degree-seeking students”.
“Kyle Rittenhouse has not gone through the ASU admissions process. He is not currently enrolled in any classes at ASU,” a spokesperson told the Guardian.
Rittenhouse has frequently alluded to an interest in attending Texas A&M. In a photo posted to Instagram five weeks ago, he sat on a giant red chair with an A&M logo, with the caption: “I’m thinking about staying.”
In another photo, Rittenhouse wore an A&M baseball hat and wrote: “Ready or not.”
