Kaitlin Marie Bennett (born October 15, 1995), also known as the Kent State gun girl, is an American gun rights activist and conservative social media personality. She received media attention in 2018 for open-carrying an AR-10 rifle at Kent State University after graduating. Bennett is the face of the YouTube channel Liberty Hangout, part of an homonymous media outlet founded by her husband that promotes Austrian economics.[1]
Kaitlin Bennett | |
|---|---|
 Bennett at University of Akron, 2020 | |
| Born | Kaitlin Marie Bennett October 15, 1995 Zanesville, Ohio, U.S. |
| Education | Kent State University (BS) |
| Known for | Open carrying an AR-10 at Kent State the day after her graduation |
| Spouse |
Justin Moldow (m. 2020) |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
editBennett was the president of the Kent State chapter of Turning Point USA; however, after an event where a member of her chapter publicly wore a diaper to protest campus safe spaces did not succeed in October 2017, she resigned.[2][3][4] In May 2018, Bennett graduated with a degree in biology from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.[5]
Media attention
editIn 2018, Bennett posed for her graduation photo from the university holding an AR-10 long gun in front of the university sign.[6] She stated that as a student at Kent State, she should have been able to open-carry for self-defense, citing the 1970 Kent State shootings where Ohio National Guardsmen fired on unarmed students protesting the U.S. bombing of Cambodia.[5] As social media users mainly associated Bennett with her gun rights activism, many media publications referenced her "Gun Girl" nickname.[7][8][9]
Later in 2018, Bennett organized an open-carry rally at the college. The university released a statement that a cease and desist order had been issued against advertising the event, as Bennett had not attempted to register it with the university.[10] Following her initial protest of Kent State, Bennett became a correspondent for InfoWars.[11] Due to her affiliation with the extremist site, she was excluded from a campaign event for Bernie Sanders.[12] She returned to the university in November of that year to host a discussion on gun rights.[13]
In January 2020, clips surfaced online of her 2019 interviews with University of Kentucky students. Originally posted by Liberty Hangout with the title "College Students Have No Morals", the videos show Bennett questioning the students about resources for transgender people in bathrooms which attracted significant online attention. One student interviewed used the attention to raise money for charity.[14][15]
In February 2020, Bennett went to Ohio University to ask trivia questions for President's Day, but was confronted by a large crowd of college students opposing her.[16][17][18] The visit turned into a confrontation with student protesters, forcing her off campus within two hours, leading to a strong online reaction and increased media attention, and further establishing her as a conservative media figure.[19][20][21] A September 2020 visit by Bennett to the University of Central Florida caused a disturbance due to a similar confrontation with protesters, culminating in a police escort to leave the campus.[22]
Later in 2020, it was reported that Liberty Hangout, the media organization Bennett is associated with, made comments in 2016 denying the Holocaust in a deleted post on Twitter.[1][23]
Personal life
editBennett became engaged in 2019 to Justin Moldow, the founder of Liberty Hangout.[1][24] The couple later married in a March 2020 ceremony.[25] In 2021 she announced her conversion to Roman Catholicism.[26] On April 6, 2022, she announced the birth of their first child on Twitter.
References
edit- ^ a b c "Who Is Kaitlin Bennett, And Why Did Her 'Liberty Hangout' Promote Holocaust Denial?". Snopes. February 24, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ Shugerman, Emily (February 26, 2018). "How a student in a diaper caused an eruption in one of America's biggest conservative youth organisations". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ Barnes, Luke (February 4, 2019). "Turning Point USA launches British chapter to rocky reception". ThinkProgress. Archived from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Kelley, Brendan Joel (February 16, 2018). "Turning Point USA's blooming romance with the alt-right". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ a b Cummings, William (May 17, 2018). "Kent State graduate celebrates by strolling campus with her AR-10". usatoday.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.(Birth year of 1996 based on age 22 in 2018)
- ^ Cummings, William. "Kent State graduate celebrates by strolling campus with her AR-10". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ Knowles, Hannah (February 18, 2020). "A conservative gun rights activist was tailed off campus by a swarm of mocking protesters". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ Madani, Doha (February 18, 2020). "'Gun Girl' Kaitlin Bennett's appearance on Ohio University campus sparks protests". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ Miller, Ryan W. (February 19, 2020). "Kent State 'gun girl' vows return to Ohio University with 'army of gun owners' after protest". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ Kent State University orders grad Kaitlin Bennett to cancel open-carry rally, Cincinnati Enquirer
- ^ Wade, Peter (March 30, 2019). "Alex Jones Claims 'Psychosis' Made Him Believe Sandy Hook Was a Hoax". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- ^ Stone, Matt (April 16, 2019). "Kaitlin Bennett reacts to being kicked out of Bernie Sanders rally". wfmj. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
- ^ Kaitlin Bennett returns to campus, hosts gun rights discussion Archived June 1, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, KentWired.com
- ^ Tobin, Ben. "'That's not my business': UK student shuts down 'gun girl' on gender neutral bathrooms". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
- ^ Musgrave, Beth (January 13, 2020). "UK student turns viral interview with 'gun girl' into fundraising push". Lexington Herald Leader. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020.
- ^ Sandler, Rachel. "Who Is Kaitlin Bennett, The Conservative Gun Rights Activist Sparking Protests On College Campuses?". Forbes. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ Knowles, Hannah. "A conservative gun rights activist was tailed off campus by a swarm of mocking protesters". Washington Post. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ^ Rodriguez, Adrianna. "Kent State 'gun girl' who walked campus with AR confronted by protesters at Ohio University". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ^ Graham, Ruth (February 19, 2020). "How Kaitlin Bennett Became a Bona Fide Conservative Media Star". Slate. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ Dickson, EJ (February 18, 2020). "What Really Happened at Ohio University When Kaitlin Bennett Showed Up?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ "'Gun Girl' Kaitlin Bennett's appearance on Ohio University campus sparks protests". NBC News. February 18, 2020. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
- ^ "Kaitlin Bennett, 'Kent State gun girl,' flees protesters at University of Central Florida". The Washington Times. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
- ^ Zoellner, Danielle (April 17, 2020). "'Gun Girl' Kaitlin Bennett accused of making anti-Semitic statements in leaked messages". The Independent. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ "Gun activist Kaitlin Bennett has a post-engagement message to haters: 'The Left is so sick'". Yahoo! Life. February 14, 2019. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
- ^ "Yes, Kent State Gun Girl Kaitlin Bennett Is a Married Woman". Distractify. April 7, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "'No Longer an Atheist': Activist Kaitlin Bennett Announces Conversion to Catholic Faith". St. Clare Media (EWTN Great Britain). December 4, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
External links
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