Footage has emerged showing the 17-year-old gunman charged with the fatal shooting of two BLM protesters in Kenosha, attending a Trump rally earlier this year, as it’s revealed the teen had bragged about his role as a vigilante in an interview taken moments before the bloodshed on Tuesday.
Kyle Rittenhouse was charged with first degree intentional homicide today after viral video footage showed the teen shooting three people during the third night of Jacob Blake protests in Wisconsin.
Two people were shot dead just before midnight on Tuesday – one in the head and one in the chest.
One of the slain men has since been identified as Anthony Huber.
A third man, a 36-year-old from West Allis, Wisconsin, was shot in the arm but his wounds were not believed to life-threatening.
According to video footage and witness accounts, the gunman first shot someone at a parking lot, then jogged away, stumbled and fell in the street, and opened fire again as members of the crowd closed in him.
Rittenhouse was arrested this afternoon in his hometown of Antioch, Illinois – 15 miles from Kenosha.
Court records say the teenager ‘fled the state of Wisconsin with the intent to avoid prosecution for that offense’.
In the wake of his arrest, photos and videos have emerged revealing the teenager had a strong admiration for law enforcement, with much of his social media containing references to Blue Lives Matter – the movement that supports police.
The young Trump fan also once participated in a youth public safety cadet program, according to social media posts.
Rittenhouse was even spotted front row at a Trump rally in Des Moines, Iowa in January this year.
A now-deleted TikTok account, believed to belong to the teen, also shows a video he took at the event.
On Tuesday, shortly before Rittenhouse opened fire, he gave an interview with rightwing news outlet The Daily Caller.
Armed with a rifle slung across his body – Wisconsin allows teens to own a gun under certain circumstances – 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.
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 said it was possible the gunman was part of an armed militia that had earlier asked the department to deputize them to help protect the city.
Beth however, said the sheriff’s department would never deputize armed civilians saying: ‘Oh, hell no. What a scary, scary thought that would be in my world.’
During the video interview, Rittenhouse invited the reporter to join him as he searched for people in need of medical assistance, only to be called out by members of the crowd who accused him of threatening protesters at gunpoint.
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, immediately walks away from the man, ignoring his comments and continues to search for people in need of care down the street.
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 because he had shot people, according to witness accounts and video footage.
The police later said they hadn’t arrested him immediately during the chaos of the scene.
Footage from earlier in the night appeared to show the teen guarding a local car shop with a group of armed militia members.
Another video showed police thanking an armed group, of which the teenager appeared to be part of, and offering them water.
Rittenhouse was among the volunteers spotted earlier on Tuesday cleaning graffiti from a high school following another night of unrest in the city.
Much of Rittenhouse’s Facebook is devoted to praising law enforcement, with references to Blue Lives Matter – the movement that supports police. He also can be seen holding an assault rifle in several photos.
He once participated in a youth public safety cadet program and a photo from that time showed him dressed in what appears to be a blue law enforcement uniform.
Rittenhouse, who appeared stunned by the confrontation, immediately walks away from the man, ignoring his comments and continues to search for people in need of care down the street.
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 because he had shot people, according to witness accounts and video footage.
The police later said they hadn’t arrested him immediately during the chaos of the scene.
Footage from earlier in the night appeared to show the teen guarding a local car shop with a group of armed militia members. Another video showed police thanking an armed group, of which the teenager appeared to be part of, and offering them water.
Rittenhouse was among the volunteers spotted earlier on Tuesday cleaning graffiti from a high school following another night of unrest in the city.
Much of Rittenhouse’s Facebook is devoted to praising law enforcement, with references to Blue Lives Matter – the movement that supports police. He also can be seen holding an assault rifle in several photos.
He once participated in a youth public safety cadet program and a photo from that time showed him dressed in what appears to be a blue law enforcement uniform.
The man, who still had his gun slung across him, put up his hands and walked toward the squad cars as someone yelled at police that the man just shot someone. Several police cars drove past him toward the people who had been shot.
Police said they fear that the shooting stemmed from a conflict between ‘self-styled militias’ defending local businesses from looters amid the ongoing unrest over the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Blake remains in hospital after being shot multiple times by a white Kenosha officer on Sunday, prompting a wave of protests that continued despite a curfew.
Several civilians were carrying weapons during the protests on Tuesday night and the gunman was believed to have been guarding a local car shop at some point prior to the shootings, according to videos posted online.
The so-called militias have had weapons slung over their shoulders or at the ready while standing guard outside businesses to protect them from looters or arsonists.
The sheriff told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that armed vigilantes had been patrolling Kenosha’s streets in recent nights, but he did not know if the gunman was among them.
However, video taken before the shooting shows police tossing bottled water from an armored vehicle to what appear to be armed civilians walking the streets.
One of them appears to be Rittenhouse.