Even though he was found not guilty by a jury in Wisconsin, Kyle Rittenhouse is learning that his actions will continue to have repercussions for the rest of his life.
Rittenhouse was enrolled in nursing classes at Arizona State University. That information came out during his trial, according to The Sacramento Bee:
He testified at his recent trial that he was enrolled as an online student at ASU, where he was studying nursing, The Arizona Republic reported.
However, the university clarified that Rittenhouse is not enrolled in the nursing program and is actually a non-degree-seeking student, a status that allows students to take classes for “transfer credit, personal growth or as prerequisites for a desired program,” according to the university’s independent student news organization, The State Press.
But students at ASU weren’t exactly ready to welcome Rittenhouse into their ranks, even as an online enrollee:
Kyle Rittenhouse is no longer enrolled in classes at Arizona State University, a university spokesperson told McClatchy News.
Student groups upset that he was enrolled at one point say they still plan to push school officials to denounce white supremacy, Students for Socialism at ASU said in a Tweet.
Rittenhouse is still facing the possibility of federal charges being filed against him, and the families of the people he killed are also considering filing civil lawsuits against him that could leave him and his family penniless, according to NBC News:
If Rittenhouse were taken to civil trial for wrongful death, the teen could claim self-defense, as he did during the criminal case. He has said that he went to Kenosha to protect property from rioters but that he came under attack and feared for his life when he shot three people, two of them fatally.
But the burden of proof civil plaintiffs need to make, by a preponderance of evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt, is much lower than what Kenosha prosecutors faced during the criminal trial, legal experts say.
Rory Little, a professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law, noted:
“In a civil case you just have to prove negligence. Did his conduct fall below the standard of care that the average person would have?
“(Rittenhouse) could say, ‘I didn’t have the intent to kill anyone — I just panicked.’ The jury could still say, ‘We didn’t think the average person would do what you did.’ If your conduct is judged to be less than that, you lose.”
Kyle is already losing. And it appears that streak will continue.
