Filed under: Action, Anti-fascist, Education, Midwest
On the morning of February 17th, hundreds of students at Ohio University campus pushed out far-Right grifter and provocateur Kaitlin Bennett and her entourage while occasionally throwing toilet paper and chanting in reference to a viral “rumor suggesting [Bennett] defecated herself at a Kent State University party while she was a student.” Beyond supposedly painting her pants a delicious shade of diarrhea, Bennett is perhaps best well known for helping to organize the infamous Turning Point USA “diaper protest,” attempting to troll students on campus for conspiracy websites like InfoWars, and organizing a rally at Kent State in 2018 alongside white nationalist and militia groups.
Pinned Tweet by Liberty Hangout proclaims that a “Catholic monarchy” is better than a “liberal democracy”
Liberty Hangout promotes and defends holocaust denial
Bennett is also part of the far-Right media platform Liberty Hangout which brands itself as “libertarian,” despite its Twitter account promoting “Catholic monarchy” in the face of “liberal democracy,” holocaust denial, and is linked to various Alt-Right figures, including white nationalists and Unite the Right speakers, Chris “Crying Nazi” Cantwell, who was arrested by federal agents several weeks ago, and Augustus Invictus, currently in jail in Florida on charges that he kidnapped his wife at gun point.
Unite the Right speaker and ‘anarcho-capitalist’ turned neo-Nazi, Chris Cantwell
Former Libertarian Party candidate and white nationalist, Augustus Invictus
Augustus Invictus and Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman are both former leaders of the Proud Boys “military wing,” the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights (FOAK), one of the groups which fought in Charlottesville
According to Ohio University Student newspaper, The New Political:
Kaitlin Bennett, the controversial “Kent State gun girl,” was swiftly run off Ohio University’s campus Monday by hundreds of protestors displeased by her provocative first visit to Athens.
Bennett, accompanied by a towering bodyguard and members of her conservative activist website Liberty Hangout, claimed the group dropped by Ohio U on President’s Day to film a video asking students “trivia” questions related to the holiday.
Instead, Bennett was barraged by students demanding that she leave town, with some throwing rolls of toilet paper at her in reference to a viral rumor suggesting she defecated herself at a Kent State University party while she was a student. Others pushed into the fray to give Bennett hugs.
The crowd surrounding Bennett traveled with her from outside Baker Center’s fourth floor, down the building’s escalators, through West Green and returned to the ground level of Baker Center where Bennett’s bright orange Ford truck was parked nearby.
She and her cohort loaded into the truck and left campus less than two hours after arriving.
Predictably, Bennett and other far-Right grifters rushed to paint the Liberty Hangout trolls as victims, instead of the massively unpopular neo-fascists that they are; drowned out by a much larger crowd. On Twitter, Bennett referred to the masses of students which came together to oppose and mercilessly mock her as “leftists;” while falsely claiming that students started a “riot.” Bennett went on to whine in a Tweet that “@realDonaldTrump should strip funding from universities like this that harbor terrorists,” as if making higher education more expensive is somehow outside the norm or would do anything to change the “Left” attitudes of the hundreds of students who laughed in her face today.
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. pic.twitter.com/5TMlfdto9O
— Kaitlin Bennett (@KaitMarieox) February 17, 2020
Cassandra Fairbanks, writing at the conspiracy website, The Gateway Pundit, quoted Bennett as stating that the “violent” students who “rioted” threw liquids at her, including hot coffee, and also jumped on her vehicle while attempting to break out the windows. However according to the videos posted by Liberty Hangout and Tweets compiled by The Gateway Pundit, there’s no evidence that anything besides water and toilet paper was thrown. Footage shot by those associated with Liberty Hangout from inside of Bennett’s vehicle also does not corroborate the claim that people “jumped” on their truck or tried its break windows. Ironically, in the last several months, Fairbanks and others at The Gateway Pundit have supported the white nationalist ‘Groyper’ movement, which is led by Unite the Right attendees and organizers, who have organized numerous mass campus disruptions of Turning Point USA events.
Please see the attached statement regarding a protest incident today on the @ohiou Athens campus. pic.twitter.com/NigbKBf077
— OhioUniversityPolice (@oupolice) February 17, 2020
In a statement to It’s Going Down, student journalist Ben Peters at The New Politics stated when asked if either Bennett’s appearance or the ensuing protest was pre-planned replied over Twitter, “As far as I know her visit was spontaneous. The Ohio University Police department confirmed it didn’t receive prior notification of her visit.” In a statement on social media, police also countered claims made by Bennett and The Gateway Pundit, stating that “the incident did not rise to the level of a riot,” and denied any acts of physical “violence.”
History was made today on Ohio University’s campus pic.twitter.com/zX3T949eMw
— kel (@kellybean_419) February 17, 2020
Students on social media were ecstatic however at the organic, mass action which pushed out Bennett. One student wrote on Twitter, “History was made today on Ohio University’s campus,” while posting a video of hundreds of students chanting, “We hate fascists.” An anonymous antifascist activist based in Ohio commented on the action today in a statement to It’s Going Down stating:
Today was a clear message that if you consort with fascists, if you make anti-Semitic comments on social media, no amount of hiding behind the Second Amendment will protect you from communities standing up to defend themselves when you decide to show your face. Ohio University students have a proud history of standing up to injustice, racism and fascism, and they showed once again that they can, and will stand together when it counts.
Despite whatever makeshift lies are coddled together by grifters like Bennett about what happened on the Ohio University campus today, what’s clear is that more and more people are sick and tired of the bullshit authoritarian, conspiratorial, and racist politics propagated by the far-Right. These losers attempt to farm content to monetize online by humiliating and attacking working people and by their own actions, expose themselves not as the partisans of an “everyman” populism, but instead the defenders of elitist ideologies which seek to give the State and capital more power over all our lives.
LMAOOO GUN GIRL GETTING BULLIED pic.twitter.com/1avI8po0RT
— nieghomi (@naomikanyewest) February 17, 2020
So Kent state gun girl came to Ohio University and it didn’t end well lol. #OU pic.twitter.com/3PvGxJsfOq
— ⚡️ (@LuiD59) February 17, 2020
Stupid moron Kaitlin Bennet aka kent state gun girl is at my university and the crowd started cheering "Shit your pants" and someone bought her a roll of toilet paper.
— Lames [MM OF THE DECADE ARC] (@Lamesama) February 17, 2020
Watching the videos of my friends and the whole student body of OU literally forcing Kent state gun girl out makes me proud to be an Ohioan.
— K? (@ksmoss15) February 17, 2020
Just saw a video of the Kent state gun girl on the getting chased out of OU’s Student union by students chanting “shit your pants”. Quite the sight.
— DAVE DAVIES STAN ACCOUNT (@LuxuryDyl) February 17, 2020
Kent state gun girl isn’t welcome on my campus! Bye bitch!!! ✌???♀️
— Paige ?✌? (@paigeypooblue) February 17, 2020
KENT STATE GUN GIRL WAS AT MY UNI AND WE ALL CROWDED AROUND HER LIKE A MOB AND TOLD HER TO SHIT HERSELF AND THREW TOILET PAPER AND CHANTED OUR UNI CHEER SO HER SECURITY HAD TO TAKE THEM AWAY DROM THE CROWD BC OF HOW HECTIC IT WAS GETTING
— h☻bi day (@calicotae) February 17, 2020
OU doesn’t like Kent state gun girl ??♀️ pic.twitter.com/53sNMwpfIa
— davien? (@davie8271) February 17, 2020
Now crowds of students can be seen following Bennett inside the Baker University Center chanting “We hate fascists” @TheNewPolitical pic.twitter.com/frsh0OhAO7
— Alejandro Figueroa (@alejandro_rfig) February 17, 2020
They just ran Kent State Gun Girl out of OU ? Good job Bobcats ? pic.twitter.com/zDYc6wNjRt
— Just TaTa Dassit (@tatavicious) February 17, 2020
The Ohio University gays have won against Kent State Gun Girl.
— Johnathen Sweeney (@johni_sweeney) February 17, 2020
Reasons #284839 why I love my school: here’s a crowd of OU students just chanting go home at gun girl pic.twitter.com/hOuelCTPdB
— idk anymore (@LingrellSophia) February 17, 2020
— ✰ saylor ✰ (@saylor1989) February 17, 2020
OU students came out to hurt feelings today ??? bye gun girl pic.twitter.com/SoJxnE7w9w
— Talon (@DrummerTalon) February 17, 2020