Tag: Kyle Rittenhouse

Data leak exposes cops’ donations to Kyle Rittenhouse following Kenosha shooting

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A data breach of a Christian crowdfunding website has uncovered donations police officers and public officials made to Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois teen accused of murdering two Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the officer-involved shooting of Jacob Blake. 

According to The Guardian, the transparency group known as Distributed Denial of Secrets shared the breach information with a number of journalists. Donors who contributed financially to Rittenhouse’s legal fund via GiveSendGo initially opted for anonymity have had their information disclosed.

Despite appearing anonymous after donating to the fund, the breach uncovered the email addresses those users entered when submitting the financial contributions. The publication reports many email addresses linked to the donations have been traced to police officers and other public officials. The use of professional email addresses also raises questions about public resources being used for these types of campaigns. Continue reading.

Kyle Rittenhouse’s mom slams Trump-loving lawyer Lin Wood: ‘He used my son’ to make money

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Trump-loving attorney Lin Wood is being accused by the mother of alleged murderer Kyle Rittenhouse of using her son to make money for himself.

In an interview with Law and Crime’s “Objections” podcast, Wendy Rittenhouse accused Wood and fellow right-wing activist John Pierce of failing to competently defend her son even as they used him to raise money for their own political causes.

“They used Kyle to gain money, gain Twitter followers,” Rittenhouse told the podcast. “I felt now they didn’t care about Kyle.” Continue reading.

Prosecutors seek to rearrest Kyle Rittenhouse, saying he violated terms of his release

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Prosecutors on Wednesday sought a new arrest warrant and higher bond for Kyle Rittenhouse, who is charged with fatally shooting two people amid protests in Kenosha, Wis., last summer, alleging that the 18-year-old from Illinois failed to notify authorities of a change in address.

In a three-page motion filed Wednesday afternoon, prosecutors in Kenosha County alleged Rittenhouse had “minimal incentive to comply with his bond conditions” because his $2 million bond had been paid by a “dubious Internet fundraising campaign.” Championed by some gun rights groups and conservatives as a hero who shot in self-defense and wanted to protect the community from rioting, Rittenhouse left custody in the fall with bail raised by a right-wing nonprofit group.

Rittenhouse’s lawyer responded with a motion saying his client went to an undisclosed “Safe House” location because of death threats and that prosecutors would not agree to keep that address private when informed of the plans more than two months ago. Rittenhouse “has stayed in constant contact” with his attorney, the motion says. Continue reading.

Kenosha prosecutors fight to modify Rittenhouse’s bond agreement after photos surface of him with Proud Boys

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Prosecutors in Kenosha, Wisc. are filing a motion to implement modifications for Kyle Rittenhouse amid the circulation of incriminating photos of him with the Proud Boys. 

According to WTMJ4-Milwaukee, the 18-year-old, who is facing charges for the fatal shooting of two protesters in Kenosha, found himself at the center of controversy after posing for photos with members of the Proud Boys.

In the photos, Rittenhouse—who is out of jail on a $2 million bond paid for with funds raised by conservative groups like the Proud Boys—was seen holding up the white power symbol as they sang the far-right, neo-fascist, organization’s official song. Since Rittenhouse entered the bar with his mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, he was also seen consuming alcohol. Surveillance footage captured a bartender serving the teen a beer. Continue reading.

Kenosha: How two men’s paths crossed in an encounter that has divided the nation

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Kyle Rittenhouse, in a jailhouse interview, said he used stimulus money to get a gun. The first man he shot had just left a psychiatric hospital.

In a summer roiled by protests for racial justice, Kenosha, Wis., moved into the national spotlight in August after a White police officer shot a Black man named Jacob Blake seven times in the back.

Peaceful protests during the day were followed by rioting and civil unrest at night. Just before midnight on Aug. 25, tensions peaked when a 17-year-old named Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum. Moments later, Rittenhouse shot two other men, one fatally.

Rittenhouse was arrested and charged with multiple counts of homicide and weapons offenses, but right-wing groups have rallied to his cause, celebrating him as a hero who sought to protect Kenosha from destructive rioting and who fired in self-defense. The events have become a litmus test for a deeply divided nation. Continue reading.

Trump Jr. makes absurd excuse for killer Kyle Rittenhouse: ‘We all do stupid things at 17’

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The cosmic disappointment of a son only Donald Trump could have, Donald Trump Jr., was on ExtraTV on Tuesday to discuss his new book, Liberal Privilege. I believe the book is sold exclusively at the Hypocrites Handbook Book Store on Nepotism Island, in the magical land of Cowpie. Right out of the gate, Junior was asked by Extra host Rachel Lindsay what he thought of the statement Black Lives Matter, as well as the movement underneath its umbrella.

Trump Jr. stammered his way into explaining that “the phrase Black Lives Matter is obvious, ah no one in America, you know, says anything else.” Lindsay, who is Black, cut Trump Jr. off to remind him that yes, in fact, there are tons of people that say almost anything else besides Black Lives Matter. Trump Jr. responded that “no one” he knew did. Welcome through the looking glass, Extra! This is the Trump family, of course, so somehow this was the least offensive and ignorant thing Junior said in the interview. It was the first question, so he was likely just warming up those three brain cells he’s working with.

Junior went on to explain that he thought Black Lives Matter was a “very good marketing message,” and a “great catchphrase,” but that the political ideology behind it didn’t support it. As opposed to, I guess, Trump and Junior’s white supremacist agenda. Trump Jr. went on to defend his father’s lack of communication with Jacob Blake’s family and his very direct communication with the Kenosha police department. His defense was the same one we’ve already heard: Trump called someone and the Blake family had asked that their family lawyer be on the call—and we know lawyers not in Trump’s pocket spook Donald Trump—and the police department that Trump was meeting with are fighting to save businesses. Continue reading.

Trump’s illuminating defense of Kyle Rittenhouse

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At the start of and throughout his news conference Monday evening, President Trump attacked Joe Biden for condemning violence but not specifically left-wing perpetrators of it.

By the end of the news conference, Trump not only pointedly declined to condemn right-wing violence at the same demonstrations, he voluntarily defended it.

The president offered his first public comments about Kyle Rittenhouse, a supporter who was charged with murder in Kenosha, Wis., as well as other Trump supporters who converged on Portland, Ore., and apparently fired paintball guns and pepper spray at protesters. Continue reading.

What the Kenosha shooter tells us about Donald Trump’s America

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Events this week in Kenosha, Wisconsin, are no surprise. They follow an all-too familiar social script in America.

On Wednesday, a 17-year-old  named Kyle Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin from his home in Antioch, Illinois, not far away. Rittenhouse did this in response to online appeals from a right-wing militia group to “protect” businesses, property and lives in Kenosha from “rioters.” In reality, the protests in Kenosha over the last week have come in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who was unarmed and shot seven times in front of his children. Blake is reportedly now paralyzed and handcuffed to a hospital bed. There are credible reports that at least some of the violence in Kenosha has been committed by white supremacists or other right-wing agitators who are trying to discredit and undermine peaceful protests against police brutality and other forms of social injustice.

Rittenhouse was armed with an AR-15 military-style rifle. Under the laws of Illinois, where he lives, Rittenhouse is too young to own such a weapon. He also violated the law by traveling across state lines with a firearm. Continue reading.

The Kenosha Shooting Suspect Was In The Front Row Of A Trump Rally In January

Kyle Rittenhouse’s social media is filled with references to “Blue Lives Matter.” A Trump campaign spokesperson said, “This individual had nothing to do with our campaign.”

The law enforcement–obsessed 17-year-old who was charged with shooting and killing two people and injuring another in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during protests for Jacob Blake appeared in the front row at a Donald Trump rally in January.

Kyle Howard Rittenhouse’s social media presence is filled with him posing with weapons, posting “Blue Lives Matter,” and supporting Trump for president. Footage from the Des Moines, Iowa, rally on Jan. 30 shows Rittenhouse feet away from the president, in the front row, to the left of the podium. He posted a TikTok video from the event.

Seven months later, Rittenhouse went with his rifle to the third night of Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha after police shot Blake, a Black man who is now paralyzed as a result, according to his family. Rittenhouse attended as an armed vigilante, supposedly assisting police and protecting property in an unofficial capacity. Instead, he allegedly prowled the protest with a gun. Videos captured him fraternizing with law enforcement and attempting to get their attention. Continue reading.