Who is Kyle Rittenhouse and what did he do?

Kyle Rittenhouse may not be a household name, but the 20-something has managed to stay relevant well past his courtroom appearances. It’s hard to fade from the cultural zeitgeist if you simply refuse to do so.

Since the Kenosha unrest shooting that landed him in the center of the gun debate, Rittenhouse has stayed relevant by attaching himself to fringe, right-wing talking heads like Charlie Kirk, Brandon Herrera, and Candace Owens. Despite his regular political appearances, it’s hard to separate him from the 2020 event that left two dead and one more wounded.

What happened at the Kenosha unrest shooting?

17-year-old Rittenhouse arrived in Kenosha, Wisconsin on August 25, 2020, with the intent to “protect local businesses.” The city was in turmoil following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot 7 times in the back by a white policeman just a few months after the George Floyd incident. The altercation was recorded by cell phone and left Blake paralyzed from the waist down.

Protests followed the shooting, pushing Kenosha County to declare a state of emergency the following day. Protestors damaged police vehicles, vandalized the courthouse, and set fire to several buildings. The protests continued the following day and 200 members of the Wisconsin National Guard were deployed to help local authorities after multiple calls about armed robberies and shots fired were received. On the third day of protests, Rittenhouse traveled to Wisconsin across state lines from his home state of Illinois. Much of the protests took place outside of the courthouse, where demonstrators threw fireworks and water bottles at police officers and national guardsmen. A civilian group calling itself the Kenosha Militia, dressed in camouflage and carrying rifles, declared themselves protectors of the city, and among this group was Rittenhouse.

He joined the Facebook page and tagged along with armed civilians from in and around Kenosha who claimed they were there to protect local businesses. He told the Daily Caller that it was his “job to protect people” and that he had also taken his med kit in case of emergency along with his AR-15-style assault rifle. Footage from the event shows Rittenhouse and several of his group cleaning graffiti off of the courthouse walls in the afternoon. As the protests died down in the evening, video shows him offering medical assistance to several protestors. He can be heard calling to passersby that he “is medical” and is “an EMT.”

Rittenhouse and several members of his group then milled around a car dealership that had been burned in the days prior until around midnight, when he eventually moved on. Police, who had peaceably interacted with the group several times that day, barred them from returning. About 15 minutes after he left the dealership, Rittenhouse was chased by a group of unknown people. A member of the crowd fired a round into the air, and, as Rittenhouse turned toward the sound, a man lunged at him from the same direction. Rittenhouse shot Joseph Rosenbaum four times, with one round appearing to hit him in the head.

The incensed crowd followed him, calling “that’s the shooter” as Rittenhouse made a phone call. Continuing to flee, he tripped and fell, and as the crowd closed in, he opened fire, hitting and killing Anthony Huber and injuring Gaige Grosskeruetz. As per the The New York Times, several more shots were fired during this exchange, but from an unknown source. Rittenhouse then walked toward a nearby police vehicle with his hands in the air. Members of the crowd shouted to the police that “he just shot them.” Police did not immediatly arrest Rittenhouse; instead, they went to assist the injured in the crowd.

What happened during Kyle Rittenhouse’s case?

Rittenhouse was tried as an adult and faced five felony charges, multiple of which were counts of homicide. He became a champion for many conservatives, who lauded his attempt to protect businesses and viewed him as “an avatar of Second Amendment virtuosity.” Before the case was even tried, right-wing pundits were calling him a “conservative hero.”

Democrats felt it was a clear case of homicide. Per Politico, 76% of Democrats believed Rittenhouse was guilty, whereas 65% of Republicans did not. While the prosecution argued that Rittenhouse was viewed as an active shooter and that he had provoked the crowd, his defense argued that his actions were in self-defense.  They argued that had he not acted quickly, but rather he was under threat of imminent death. Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges and was acquitted.

What is Kyle Rittenhouse doing now?

Since his trial, Rittenhouse has made himself at home on plenty of right-wing programs. He’s been interviewed by Tucker Carlson, Charlie Kirk, and Jenna Ellis and is a regular pundit and guest. He’s also been invited to meet with the Republican House of Representatives and became a vocal gun rights advocate in the wake of his trial. He’s allegedly in the middle of talks to write a book covering his “unorthodox journey into adulthood” and has been the main character in two video games. The first, Kyle Rittenhouse’s Turkey Shoot, is supposedly in the works to help him pay for any remaining litigation costs. The second, Acquitted, features Rittenhouse battling his way through hordes of zombies.

He’s been offered multiple internships by various Republican leaders, including Matt Gaetz and Paul Gosar, and has met with former President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort. He’s even had his likeness adopted by the Proud Boys of America. Rittenhouse’s trial has spawned several bills, including Kyle’s Law, which was passed in 2022 and requires the government to reimburse anyone charged with murder but found not guilty through “justifiable homicide.” The second, pushed for by raving lunatic Marjorie Taylor Greene, had no co-sponsors but was intended to endow Rittenhouse with a congressional medal of honor.

Rittenhouse announced in 2022 that he was starting the Media Accountability Project, but the project was never launched. Likewise, he attempted to start a YouTube channel centered on guns and the Second Amendment, but the account went dormant after its first and only video was removed. These days, Rittenhouse travels the country looking for speaking gigs. His most recent attempt, featured above, was not well received by the community, and Rittenhouse left the event in tears.