James Madison University came under scrutiny over the weekend after a student shared his thoughts on Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal on the college’s Instagram page.
JMU’s Instagram account held a “story takeover” on Nov. 19, in which a student claimed Rittenhouse killed “two beautiful black lives at the ripe ages of 26 and 36.” The video, now deleted from the account, was copied by another JMU student and shared by Virginia Congressional Candidate Tina Ramirez, who said on social media the video “mischaracterizes the facts of the case.”
“JMU is a publicly funded university that is now pushing political propaganda and misinformation from their social media accounts,” Ramirez wrote on Twitter. “JMU’s actions are unethical, as Kyle Rittenhouse was found innocent, and dangerous, as the post pushes false info that could lead to violence.”
This was sent to me by a @JMU alum. It is a now deleted video from JMU’s Official IG account that not only criticizes Rittenhouse’s innocent verdict, but mischaracterizes the facts of the case, stating that “two beautiful black lives” were killed, which is false. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/EoJOJr0CUH
— Tina Ramirez (@TinaRamirezVA) November 19, 2021
Rittenhouse was charged with and later found not guilty for the fatal shootings of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26. He also wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 28, after shooting him in the arm. All three men shot by Rittenhouse were white.
The student who posted the video during the account’s story takeover, Daequin Nichols, is a junior biophysical chemistry major and a member of the school’s NAACP chapter. Mary-Hope Vass, a spokeswoman for the school, said students regularly host story takeovers. However, they are not meant to be an opportunity for students to share their personal beliefs, according to the Breeze.
“One of yesterday’s takeovers went into the personal opinion and viewpoints of a student, which are not necessarily reflective of the university,” Vass told the outlet.
On Saturday, JMU’s department of chemistry and biochemistry posted a statement on Twitter, noting, “It is hard to focus on science if you are worried you might be legally shot or run over at a protest.”
The statement did not clarify if it was a response to the Rittenhouse verdict or who at the school wrote the comments.
sitting in their apartment, or jogging, or wearing a hoodie. It’s hard to focus on science if you’re worried you might get deported or if your human rights depend on the outcome of an election. The fight for justice *is* a fight for science. /fin
— JMU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry (@JMUChemistry) November 20, 2021
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Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all five criminal charges he faced on Nov. 19.
JMU has not yet responded to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
