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Police-obsessed gunman, Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, charged with murder of two BLM protesters during Kenosha riots sat front row at a Trump MAGA rally at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa in January this year
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Police-obsessed gunman, 17, who is charged with murder
of two BLM protesters during Kenosha riots sat front row at a Trump MAGA rally
as video interview emerges of him bragging about being a vigilante before the
mayhem unfolded
Footage has emerged showing Kyle Rittenhouse attending
a Trump rally in Des Moines, Iowa in January
The 17-year-old was arrested on Wednesday in his
hometown of Antioch, Illinois and charged with first degree intentional
homicide
He is accused of shooting two protesters on Tuesday
night during the second nights of riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin
In a video taken before the shootings, he bragged
about his role as a vigilante and how he wanted to protect local businesses
from shooters
He had an AR-15 slung over one shoulder as he walked
through the streets before the shooting
At one point in the night, he was filmed walking
towards cops with his arms in the air but he wasn't arrested
Other protesters were yelling at the police to arrest
him, saying he'd just shot two people,but nothing was done until the following
day
He is an avid Trump fan who also posts about Blue
Lives Matter on his social media accounts
It's unclear where Rittenhouse obtained his weapon; it
is illegal for anyone under 18 to buy guns in most states
By KAREN
RUIZ and EMILY CRANE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED:
01:19, 27 August 2020 | UPDATED: 15:44, 27 August 2020
The teenage
Kenosha gunman accused of shooting dead two protesters on Tuesday night with an
AR-15 sat front row at a Trump rally earlier this year and is an avid Blue
Lives Matter activist who boasted about his role as a vigilante before the
shootings.
Kyle
Rittenhouse, 17, was arrested on Wednesday at his home in Antioch, Illinois, some
20 miles from Kenosha, where riots over the shooting of Jacob Blake have been
raging now for four nights. He is
accused of killing two people at the protests on Tuesday night while trying to
'defend' the city.
Disturbing
videos from Tuesday night's protests show Rittenhouse walking through the
streets with an AR-15 before the shootings and appearing to surrender to cops
after them.
He walked
towards police vehicles with his hands in the air as other protesters yelled at
the cops to arrest him, claiming he'd just shot two people.
Shockingly,
the teenager was not arrested until the following day. Now, he is in custody
and has been charged as an adult.
In January
this year, Rittenhouse sat front row at a Trump rally in Des Moines, Iowa.
Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, has been charged with first degree intentional homicide following the shooting death of two protesters in Kenosha on Tuesday. Social media photos show the teen had a strong admiration for law enforcement and guns
The
teenager's arrest came hours after video footage emerged showing Rittenhouse
walking up to police with his hands in the air and his semi-automatic rifle
slung across his body just moments after the shooting. He was apparently
allowed to walk by despite members of the crowd yelling for him to be arrested
Shortly
before the attack, and armed with a rifle slung across his body, Rittenhouse
told the reporter he was a certified EMT and explained he was patrolling the
streets of Kenosha to provide medical attention to anyone who had been injured,
as well as protecting businesses from looters
The young
Trump fan also once participated in a youth public safety cadet program.
On Tuesday,
shortly before Rittenhouse opened fire, he gave an interview to right-wing news
outlet The Daily Caller.
Armed with
a rifle slung across his body, the teen told the reporter he was a certified
EMT and explained he was patrolling the streets of Kenosha to provide medical
attention to anyone in need and was helping protect local businesses from
looters and rioters.
'People are
getting injured. Our job is to protect this business and part of my job is to
also help people,' Rittenhouse said of his militia.
'If there's
somebody hurt, I'm running into harm's way,' added Rittenhouse, who was seen
earlier guarding a local car shop with a group of armed militia members.
'That's why
I have my rifle because I can protect myself, obviously. I also have my medkit.'
He also
claimed he had been 'de-escalating' a potentially violent situation earlier in
the night, during which he and the rest of his vigilante crew ordered
protesters to leave a church that they had targeted.
Much of
Rittenhouse's Facebook is devoted to praising law enforcement, with references
to Blue Lives Matter - the movement that supports police. He also previously
participated in a youth public safety cadet program (right), according to
social media
Facebook on
Wednesday launched an investigation into a group called 'Kenosha Guard,'
containing 3,000 members, after it had promoted an event encouraging armed
civilians to take to the streets to defend the city on Tuesday.
The militia
group had hosted an event titled, 'Armed Citizens to Protect our Lives and
Property', according to screen grabs obtained by The Verge.
'Any
patriots willing to take up arms and defend our city tonight from the evil
thugs?' the group said in a post.
In a
statement to the website, Facebook confirmed it had deleted the group for
violating its policy, but said it had not found any evidence linking
Rittenhouse to the group or event.
'At this
time, we have not found evidence on Facebook that suggests the shooter followed
the Kenosha Guard Page or that he was invited on the Event Page they
organized,' the company said.
'However,
the Kenosha Guard Page and their Event Page violated our new policy addressing
militia organizations and have been removed on that basis.'
A member of
the group also told The Verge it was unaware if the shooter 'was answering the
Kenosha Guard Militia's call to arms.'
'Just like
with the shooting of Jacob Blake, we need all the facts and evidence to come
out before we make a judgement. God Bless and stay safe Kenosha!' the statement
said.
When asked
if the outcome would have been different if police officers responded to the
scene instead, Rittenhouse replied: 'I feel like there would be a lot more
casualties and a lot more people injured.'
'So I think
the police are fine where they're at and [should] let us run the medical,
because EMS is not coming in', he continued. 'Us citizens, we need to help each
other.'
In a press
conference addressing the shooting, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth told
reporters it was possible the gunman was part of an armed militia that had
earlier asked the department if they could become part of the police force to
help protect the city. In Wisconsin, it is legal for people 18 and over to
openly carry a gun without a license but it is not legal for anyone under 18 to
own a gun.
Beth said:
'And I'm like, 'Oh, hell no.' What happened last night is the perfect reason
why I wouldn't.'
The sheriff
called it a 'scary thought' that untrained members of the public might ever be
given the same duties or privileges as police.
'Oh, hell
no. What a scary, scary thought that would be in my world,' he said.
But footage
from the night shows police thanking a group of armed militia that Rittenhouse
was a part of and giving them water.
'We
appreciate you being here,' an officer was heard saying to the group over a
loudspeaker.
The sheriff
later defended officers by saying, 'Our deputies would toss water to anybody.'
Earlier in
the evening, Rittenhouse invited the Daily Caller reporter to join him as he
searched for people who needed medical assistance.
He was
confronted by protesters who said he'd been threatening them with his gun.
As
Rittenhouse approached the group to offer medical help, one man tells him: 'I
remember you, you were telling us to get off the car [makes gun gesture] now
you're talking about medical?'
Rittenhouse,
who appeared stunned by the confrontation, quickly walks away from the man,
ignoring his comments and continued to search for people in need of care down
the street.
After the
chaos on Tuesday night, a Facebook group called the Kenosha Guard popped up.
It quickly
amassed 3,000 members and issued a call to 'patriots'.
'Any
patriots willing to take up arms and defend our city tonight from the evil
thugs?
'No doubt
they are currently planning on the next part of the city to burn tonight,' it
said.
The group
was deleted by Facebook.
Much of
Rittenhouse's Facebook was devoted to praising law enforcement.
In a
photograph posted by his mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, he is wearing what appears
to be a blue law enforcement uniform as well as the kind of brimmed hat that
state troopers wear.
Records
show that in January 2017 his mom claimed a classmate of her son's had been
calling him 'dumb' and 'stupid' and threatening him as she sought an order of
protection from police.
Kenosha
Police Chief Dan Miskinis later appeared to blame protesters for being out past
the dawn to dusk curfew.
'Everybody
involved was out after the curfew. I'm not going to make a great deal of it,
but the point is that the curfew is in place to protect,' he said.
'Had
persons not been out in violation of that, perhaps the situation that unfolded
would not have happened.'
Rittenhouse,
identified in court papers as a lifeguard at a YMCA in Lindenhurst, Illinois,
was assigned a public defender in Illinois for a hearing on Friday upon his
extradition to Wisconsin.
Rittenhouse
was among the volunteers spotted earlier on Tuesday cleaning graffiti from a
high school near the Kenosha County Courthouse following another night of
unrest in the city +58
Rittenhouse
was among the volunteers spotted earlier on Tuesday cleaning graffiti from a
high school near the Kenosha County Courthouse following another night of
unrest in the city
Cellphone
videos from Tuesday night captured the horrifying violence. The footage emerged
before Rittenhouse was identified or arrested.
They showed
the gunman running away in the moments after the gunshots rang out and he could
be heard saying: 'I've just killed somebody'.
Onlookers
were filmed desperately trying to put pressure on the injured man's head wound
with a t-shirt as they yelled: 'We've got to keep him alive' and 'put pressure,
put pressure.'
It is not
yet clear what happened in the lead up to the initial shooting but police fear
it may have stemmed from a conflict at a gas station between 'self-styled
militias' defending local businesses from looters.
Separate
videos that captured the other two shootings showed a group of protesters
tailing the gunman as he ran down the middle of the street. Someone in the
crowd can be heard asking 'What did he do?' and another responds that the man
had shot someone.
The videos
show the gunman stumbling and falling in the street before one pursuer took a
flying kick at him, while another appeared to strike him with a skateboard.
The gunman
fired three of four shots from a seated position, hitting at least two people,
including one who fell over clutching his chest and another who stumbled away
putting pressure on his arm, according to the videos.
As the
crowd scattered, the shooter stood up and continued walking down the street as
police cars arrived.
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