Who is gun rights activist Kaitlin Bennett?
KAITLIN Bennett rose to fame after posing on her graduation day with a battle rifle strapped to her back and a sign saying, “Come and take it”. The former university student’s campus picture went viral among guns rights activists on Twitter. Here’s what we know about “Gun Girl”. Who is Kaitlin Bennett? Biology graduate Kaitlin […]
KAITLIN Bennett rose to fame after posing on her graduation day with a battle rifle strapped to her back and a sign saying, “Come and take it”.
The former university student’s campus picture went viral among guns rights activists on Twitter. Here’s what we know about “Gun Girl”.
Who is Kaitlin Bennett?
Biology graduate Kaitlin Bennett, 24, is a guns rights activist who inflamed gun control debates in 2018 when she celebrated her graduation from Kent State University, Ohio, by strolling campus armed with an AR-10 rifle.
“Now that I graduated from [Kent State], I can finally arm myself on campus,” she said in the May 2018 tweet, which has garnered more than 35,000 likes.
“I should have been able to do so as a student — especially since [four] unarmed students were shot and killed by the government on this campus.”
She wore a graduation cap printed with the message, “come and take it.”
Her comment reflects the Kent State University policy which permit visitors, but not students or teachers, to open carry outdoors on campus.
Later, she told Washington Post she had “no apologies”.
“We should be able to protect ourselves against a tyrannical government,” she added.
Later that year, Bennett organized an open-carry rally at Kent State. The university released a statement, saying a cease and desist had been issued against advertising the event, as Bennett had not attempted to register the event with the university.
Bennett once tweeted Parkland school shooting survivor and gun safety activist David Hogg, challenging him to an arm-wrestling protest. He did not reply.
What happened at Ohio University?
Bennett turned up unannounced at the campus on Monday, February 17, 2020, where she was met with crowds heckling her and demanding she should leave.
Videos Bennett shared online show a large crowd of students protesting as she arrived at Ohio University on Monday, with some splashing water at her car.
Other footage captured of her visit showed the crowd following Bennett, friend Joel Patrick and a security guard around the campus as she attempted to interview students for a President’s Day stunt, chanting insults and throwing toilet paper.
“This is what happens when a Trump supporter goes to a college campus,” 24-year-old Bennett captioned a video of the crowd taken from inside her car.
“Leftists started a riot when [we] showed up, and the [Ohio University] let it happen,” she claimed.
“They [protesters] threw projectiles and poured hot coffee on us, and there’s video of [police] officers witnessing [Joel’s] truck being vandalized.
founder of conservative youth website Liberty Hangout claimed local police should have done more to stop the students from harassing her.
How did the university react?
Ohio University Police said in a statement that the students were, like Bennett, only exercising their constitutionally protected right to free speech.
“[Bennett] drew a large crowd of people, many with opposing viewpoints, who also chose to exercise their First Amendment rights,” the statement said.
“Contrary to allegations circulating on social media, the incident did not rise to the level of a riot.There was strong language, and allegations that some unknown person(s) in the crowd splashed water, but there were no reported injuries or violence, and no one was arrested during the incident.”
Ohio University spokesperson Carly Leatherwood added: “The school is “committed to fostering an atmosphere that allows the free and peaceful exchange of diverse thoughts and ideas.”
But defiant Bennet responded, saying: “You can’t keep us away and you can’t keep us silent.”