ASU conservatives raising funds for Kenosha protest shooter Kyle Rittenhouse

A conservative student organization at Arizona State University announced on Friday that they will be accepting donations to support the legal defense of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged with homicide in the killing of two people at protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

College Republicans United, which split from the more mainline ASU College Republicans chapter in recent years, tweeted that a portion of the funds collected for the group would be donated to Rittenhouse.

"He does not deserve to have his entire life destroyed because of the actions of violent anarchists during a lawless riot," CRU stated in a tweet. 

The tweet linked to a page on their website, which detailed how the organization believes Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha county to help clean graffiti and provide private security to businesses affected by protests.

"Kyle Rittenhouse is not a vigilante but a citizen who attempted to help in a city in chaos," the website read. 

Rittenhouse is facing a first-degree intentional homicide charge and five other charges for shooting three people, two fatally, during unrest on Tuesday night in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake.

CRU told The Arizona Republic "they do not speak to journalists with pronouns on their Twitter page" and to "get a real job" when contacted for comment on the fundraiser. 

ASU officials said on Friday that the university was aware of the tweet, but did not have an official comment on it.

The group previously came under fire last year after materials showing some group leaders making racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic comments were made public.

These materials included screenshots of messages, as well as a photo of a former co-founder of CRU making light of the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

The group later publicly apologized after facing backlash from both the public and university.

Reach breaking news reporter Brooke Newman at brooke.newman@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @brookerae17.