Bennett was the president of theKent State chapter ofTurning Point USA; however, after an event where a member of her chapter publicly wore a diaper to protest campus safe spaces the chapter did not succeed in October 2017, she resigned.[1][2] In May 2018, Bennett graduated with a degree inbiology from Kent State University inKent, Ohio.[3]
Media attention
In 2018, Bennett posed for her graduation photo from the university holding an AR-10 long gun in front of the university sign.[4] She stated that as a student at Kent State, she should have been able toopen-carry for self-defense, citing the 1970Kent State shootings whereOhio National Guardsmen fired on unarmed students protesting theU.S. bombing of Cambodia.[3] As social media users mainly associated Bennett with her gun rights activism, many media publications referenced her "Gun Girl" nickname.[5][6][7]
Later in 2018, Bennett organized an open-carry rally at the college. The university released a statement that acease and desist order had been issued against advertising the event, as Bennett had not attempted to register it with the university.[8] Following her initial protest of Kent State, Bennett became a correspondent forInfoWars.[9] Due to her affiliation with the site, she was excluded from a campaign event forBernie Sanders.[10] She returned to the university in November of that year to host a discussion on gun rights.[11]
In January 2020, clips surfaced online of her 2019 interviews withUniversity 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 fortransgender people in bathrooms which attracted significant online attention. One student interviewed used the attention to raise money for charity.[12][13]
In February 2020, Bennett went toOhio University to ask trivia questions forPresident's Day, but was confronted by a large crowd of college students opposing her.[14][15][16] 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.[17][18][19] A September 2020 visit by Bennett to theUniversity of Central Florida caused a disturbance due to a similar confrontation with protesters, culminating in her fleeing the campus under the protection of a police escort.[20]
Later in 2020, it was reported that Liberty Hangout, the media organization Bennett is associated with, made a post on Twitter in 2016denying the Holocaust, saying "It doesn't seem possible that 6 million were killed." The post was later deleted.[21][22]
Personal life
Bennett became engaged in 2019 to Justin Moldow, the founder of Liberty Hangout.[21][23] The couple later married in a March 2020 ceremony.[24] In 2021, she announced her conversion toRoman Catholicism.[25]
