The conservative gun-rights activist known as ‘Kent State Gun Girl’ is calling on President Trump to strip government funding from Ohio University, claiming that they ‘harbor terrorists’.
Kaitlin Bennett, 24, went viral in May 2018 after posing with an AR-10 rifle immediately after her graduation from Kent State University.
She has continued to court controversy as she visits college campuses to talk about gun rights and make videos in which she questions students, traveling to Ohio University’s Athens campus on Monday where she was met with angry protesters.
The gun-loving Ohio woman posted videos on Twitter after her visit in which she claims a ‘riot’ started because of her presence on campus and that students ‘were throwing things at me all day, dumped hot coffee on me, & vandalized @Joelpatrick1776’s truck right in front of the cops’.
Kaitlin Bennett first found fame in May 2018 after posting these photos condemning Kent State University’s ‘insulting’ anti-gun laws that banned her from carrying a gun while a student
Cell phone footage from Bennett’s Monday visit shows toilet roll being thrown at her
Bennett, 24,posted this video to Twitter which shows two police officers keeping watch as angry protesters heckle and swarm the car she is trying to leave in with Joel Patrick
‘This is what happens when a Trump supporter goes to a college campus. Leftists at @ohiou started a riot when @JoelPatrick1776 and I showed up, and the @oupolice let it happen. I think @realDonaldTrump should strip funding from universities like this that harbor terrorists,’ she wrote.
Bennett, who is also the founder of right-wing group Liberty Hangout, shared the video of her with radio host and self-proclaimed ‘black redneck’ Joel Patrick as they tried to leave the campus by car.
A group of angry protesters swarmed around shouting and swearing as the driver honks the horn to try to make them move.
A woman can be seen throwing the contents of her water bottle over the car and other liquids are thrown as two police officers stand by the car as it makes its way out.
She later posted a further video in which she walks around the campus with her security guard and a large number of protesters follow her.
Further posts by students show the large crowds that followed Bennett around to protest her presence on campus.
Bennett has accused the campus police of lying about the level of violence shown against her on Monday, posting a video in which she claims hot coffee was poured on her
Bennett branded the protesting students as ‘a bunch of whiny children’ after her campus trip
Students posted pictures of the protests that followed Bennett as she moved around campus
‘So Kent state gun girl came to Ohio University and it didn’t end well lol,’ one student wrote.
‘And in today’s news, the only thing Kent’s gun girl accomplished was uniting our family against bigotry, racism, and fascism. I love #ou and all my bobcat family,’ posted another.
Bennett has claimed that the university police did nothing to stop the ‘violence’ against her.
‘The @oupolice lied and said that no violence happened and that there were just “allegations that some unknown person splashed water,”‘ she wrote.
Ohio University Police released a statement shortly after the visit in which they refuted Bennett’s claims that her arrival led to a riot.
‘She drew a large crowd of people, many with opposing viewpoints, who also chose to exercise their First Amendment rights,’ the statement said.
‘Ohio university police officers were present throughout the incident to protect everyone’s rights and safety; other than keeping streets and other public rights of way clear, no police officers asked anyone to leave at any point in time.
‘Contrary to allegations circulating on social media, the incident did not rise to the level of a riot,’ university police said.
‘There was strong language, and allegations that some unknown person(s) in the crown splashed water, but there were no reported injuries or violence, and no one was arrested during the event.’
The Ohio University police argued that there was no ‘riot’ during Bennett’s visit
Kent State ‘gun girl’ is heckled when she’s confronted by protesters at Ohio University
Kaitlin Bennett claims she was on Ohio University’s Athens campus on Monday in order to film a President’s Day video asking students about the American presidents and their history
Students followed Bennett around and booed her as she tried to film the video
They also highlighted that although ‘not required’, they had received no warning that Bennett was to visit the campus which ‘deprived the department of the ability to plan staffing levels’.
‘As a result, the officers on duty had to prioritize their response to the events as they unfolded, rightly putting everyone’s personal safety ahead of all other concerns,’ the statement continued.
Bennett responded with a further call for Donald Trump to removed the school’s funding, saying that protesters ‘threw projectiles’ and poured ‘hot coffee on us’.
She added: ‘I’ve been contacted by the FBI 4 times for credible threats against my life. I’ve received millions of death threats the last two years. I’ve been assaulted numerous times and rioted against twice. But nothing the left does will make me go away. Their hatred makes me stronger.’
Bennett claims that she went to the Ohio University campus to film a video, tweeting: ‘I went to @ohiou to ask President’s Day trivia questions like “who were the first 3 presidents”. It’s not my fault the students there are a bunch of whiny children that have to throw temper tantrums because someone they disagree with shows up.’
The gun rights activist claims the encounter will only encourage her to do more
Bennett repeating called on President Trump to cut funding for Ohio University
On Tuesday she made a further call for Trump to strip funding posting a a picture of a person screaming on the ground and adding: ‘@ohiou after @realDonaldTrump takes away their federal funding for letting students terrorize conservatives.’
Bennett’s first claim to fame came in 2018 after she protested Kent State University’s policy which does not allow its students to carry guns on campus.
As visitors are allowed to carry guns, she slung a AR-10 rifle over her shoulder the day after her graduation to condemn the school’s ‘insulting’ anti-gun policies.
Photos show Bennett, wearing a short, white dress with the rifle strapped over her back. In her hand, her graduation cap read: ‘Come and take it.’
‘Now that I graduated from Kent State, I can finally arm myself on campus,’ Bennett wrote in the post. ‘I should have been able to do so as a student – especially since 4 unarmed students were shot and killed by the government on this campus.’
She was referring to a 50-year-old incident when Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on Vietnam War protesters, killing four and wounding nine others.
The photos, which have been shared thousands of times, provoked a fierce debate on social media where many criticized Bennett’s stance that students should be able to carry because ‘the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.’
Kaitlin Bennett, 24, first found fame in May 2018 after posting these photos condemning Kent State University’s ‘insulting’ anti-gun laws that banned her from carrying a gun while a student
On her website, Liberty Hangout, which posts inflammatory messages and fake news posts on Facebook, Bennett continues to espouse her pro-Second Amendment views and belief that students should be able to carry weapons on campus.
This is not the first time a college campus has reacted unkindly to Bennett.
In May 2019, she claimed that ‘a group of liberals @RutgersU called 911 to try having me kicked off campus because they didn’t like that a conservative was talking to students in front of a communist’s memorial’.
‘5 cops showed up because someone they disagreed with engaged in free speech. Very progressive!’ she added.
Bennett was interviewing students about student debt for InfoWars, the far right conspiracy site run by Alex Jones.