Kyle Rittenhouse (3 January 2003-) was an American right-wing vigilante who, on 25 August 2020, shot and killed two Black Lives Matter protests amid chaotic protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse was hailed as a hero and patriot by leading conservatives (including Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, and Ann Coulter) and accused of being a terrorist and white supremacist by leading progressives (including Ayanna Pressley), leading to a polarizing media circus about the shooting, its perpetrator, and its victims. Charged with two counts of homicide, two counts of reckless endangerment, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, he was found not guilty on all charges on 19 November 2021.
Biography
Kenosha shooting
Rittenhouse scrubbing down Black Lives Matter graffiti
Kyle Rittenhouse was born in Antioch, Illinois on 3 January 2003, and he supported Donald Trump and the pro-police "Blue Lives Matter" movement during his teenage years, having himself taken part in a police cadet program. On 25 August 2020, on the same day that the right-wing Kenosha Guard militia of Kenosha, Wisconsin called for volunteers to help protect local businesses from Black Lives Matter protesters amid the George Floyd protests (which spread to Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake), Rittenhouse travelled to Kenosha, with his defense attorneys claiming that he had travelled to Kenosha to work as a lifeguard. After finishing his shift, he and a friend were said to have decided to clean up local BLM graffiti, including anti-police slogans, and, after a local business owner called on locals to help him protect his car dealership, Rittenhouse and his friend were said to have armed themselves and answered the call. They patrolled the streets with other Kenosha Guard militiamen, aiming to prevent the destruction of private property by the protesters. 36-year-old Kenosha resident Joseph Rosenbaum tried to take Rittenhouse's gun from him, leading to Rittenhouse shooting him. He was then pursued across a parking lot by the protesters, and he called an acquaintance and told them that he believed he had just killed someone. He tripped on the street while running from the protesters, who proceeded to attack him on the ground. BLM protester Anthony Huber proceeded to strike Rittenhouse with a skateboard, causing Rittenhouse to fire at Huber and kill him. Gaige Grosskreutz initially put his hands in the air, only to pull out a handgun, causing Rittenhouse to shoot and wound him. Following the shooting, Rittenhouse approached police with his hands in the air, but the police drove past him, apparently unaware that he had just shot three people.
Aftermath
Ann Coulter's tweet supporting Rittenhouse
Rittenhouse returned to his mother's home in Antioch, where he was arrested a day later and charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, and attempted homicide. His legal team argued that he had acted in self-defense and was wrongly arrested, and that he had fought off an attacking mob. Leading conservatives such as President Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, and Ann Coulter defended Rittenhouse; Carlson claimed that Rittenhouse and other militiamen were forced to fill the void left by police inaction, while Coulter retweeted a tweet advertising Rittenhouse as a bodyguard and said, "I want him as my president."
Ayanna Pressley's tweet criticizing the news coverage of the shooting
In addition, right-wingers alleged that the two killed BLM protesters were criminals who had been arrested for sex crimes and assault, justifying Rittenhouse's actions. On the other hand, several leading progressives called Rittenhouse a "white supremacist" and "terrorist". Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley criticized the news media for calling him a "vigilante" who rubbed out graffiti, suggesting that they had to "fix (their) damn headlines" and write "A 17 year old white supremacist domestic terrorist drove across state lines, armed with an AR 15. He shot and killed 2 people who had assembled to affirm the value, dignity, and worth of Black lives."
Rittenhouse was charged with two counts of homicide, two counts of reckless endangerment, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, and his trial began on 1 November 2021. Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed the unlawful possession charge, and Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges on 19 November 2021.