Two University of South Florida students refused to criticize the Iranian regime during an awkward street debate – and eagerly accepted a ticket to the war-torn country for a “little tour around the Middle East.”
The students, an LGBTQ man and an aspiring nurse, were arrested by conservatives for researching the US and Israel’s war with Iran.
When asked if Iran or America would be “better for women,” the interviewing nurse criticized the US for “the way we handled the Epstein files” and said she would flee to Iceland if given the chance.
Bennett, surprised by the woman’s limited criticism of the Iranian regime, asked her question again, which only caused further confusion.
“I think women have the right to choose where they want to live and what they want to pursue,” said the student.
“In Iran?” Bennett agreed.
“In Iran, yes. I think people have misconceptions about religion, especially Muslims in Muslim areas,” said the student.
This student, who realized that he was using some type of medication that was given to him, ignored the entire interview. He was wearing a t-shirt with the words “Don’t Touch Me Cat I’m Edging” above a carved image of a wolf.
As Bennett continued, urging the two to abandon the Iranian regime, the student went a step beyond praising him and retracted the list of war crimes of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying “we have a dictator. [America].”
Bennett took advantage of this opportunity and offered to buy the woman and her male friend, who had been silent during most of the conflict, a ticket to Iran – which they gladly accepted.
The nurse to be recognized will accept a ticket to Iran, but “take a little trip around the Middle East” when she arrives.
Bennett warned the couple that they “will not be safe in Iran.”
“I think it’s disturbing, and it’s very sad, that you won’t throw away or even say ‘Iran is not safe for women’. It’s not safe for dogs. It’s not safe for gay people, or anyone,” Bennett said.
“You will go and try to tell me that [America] is it a worse place, as a woman, than Iran?” he added.
“Would you like to be the main source? We can go to Iran and we can, like, hold hands,” joked the nursing student.
“I wouldn’t even shake hands in America,” a fed-up Bennett flatly refused.
Bennett’s team organized a GiveSendGo fundraiser for the two students shortly after the interview wrapped on Monday. The fundraiser adjusted Bennett’s original offer to two round-trip tickets, raising the estimated cost to $2,400.
“Please consider supporting the cause of freeing these students from their oppression,” Bennett wrote.
Bennett said the proceeds will go to the Options For Women Pregnancy Help Clinic, “conveniently located near the only remaining abortion facility in Polk County.”
The fundraiser just cleared the $2,000 mark as of Wednesday afternoon.
Bennett, 30, made a name for himself as a student at Kent State University when he went viral in 2018 by posting a controversial photo of himself trying to finish school with an automatic rifle slung over his shoulder.
