Kyle Rittenhouse: Kenosha shooting suspect attended a Trump rally in January, stood in the front row
A White teenager, Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, who was armed with an assault rifle has been linked to at least two shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday night as protests over the shooting of unarmed black man Jacob Blake turned violent. It has also been reported that Kyle appears to have attended President Donald Trump's campaign rallies back in January. Buzzfeed News revealed that a TikTok video shared from an account that appears to belong to Kyle shows the teenager standing in the front row of a Trump rally in Des Moines in Iowa, on January 30.
As per his other social media handles, it seems like Kyle is very much a Trump supporter and the pro-law enforcement 'Blue Lives Matter' movement. On Tuesday, August 25, Kyle had taken off his rifle to the Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha after the shooting of a black man, Jacob Blake. The gunman, Kyle, has been charged with murder after he shot a protester dead. Several gunshots were heard outside an auto body shop in video footage which was shared on Twitter before the suspect who was seen in a green t-shirt ran away from the scene.
According to The Hill, Kyle is facing a charge of first-degree intentional homicide in Kenosha for reportedly shooting and killing two people while injuring another. Kyle is likely to be extradited to Wisconsin where he will be facing a trial. The Grayslake Police Department shared that he was a member of its Public Safety Cadet Program which is a youth program that "offers boys and girls the opportunity to explore a career in law enforcement."
Kyle's Facebook page, which has now been deleted, had featured images of himself posing with his firearms with him repeatedly showing his support for law enforcement. Facebook had taken down Kyle's page as well as the page of a group called Kenosha Guard and an event called Armed Citizens to Protect our Lives that urged armed responses to the protests.
Trump's campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh said in a statement to The Hill that the president "repeatedly and consistently condemned all forms of violence and believes we must protect all Americans from chaos and lawlessness. This individual had nothing to do with our campaign and we fully support our fantastic law enforcement for their swift action in this case."
On the day of the protests, videos featuring witnesses yelling "He shot him!" went viral as protesters were seen bending down to assist the victim, who is lying on the ground between two parked vehicles. They proceed to apply pressure on the gunshot wound on the side of his head with a piece of clothing.
Kenosha has been engulfed in protests which have rocked the city after a White police officer shot Jacob Blake at least seven times at point-blank range after he did not comply with police officers' orders and attempted to get inside a vehicle. According to CNN, the incident had taken place right in front of his sons, aged 3, 5, and 8 with Blake totally unarmed. A Twitter user had been the first to identify Kyle via his Facebook page.