Editor's Note: Several hours after this story was published, Mr. Rittenhouse posted on social media that he has decided to vote for former President Trump after "productive conversations with members of Trump's team."
WASHINGTON (TND) — Kyle Rittenhouse, the man who shot three people during a 2020 Kenosha, Wisconsin riot, said in a video shared early Friday he will not vote for former President Donald Trump.
Rittenhouse claimed Trump’s record on gun rights shows he would compromise on Second Amendment issues.
“Unfortunately, Donald Trump had bad advisors making him bad on the Second Amendment, and that is my issue,” he argued. “If you cannot be completely uncompromisable on the Second Amendment, I will not vote for you, and I will write somebody else in.”
The Trump administration banned bump stocks, which enable semi-automatic guns to mimic the fire rate of machine guns, in a regulation later found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The former president also signed the Fix NICS Act, which increases accountability for states that don’t upload certain records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Rittenhouse pledged to write in former Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas conservative who has supported improving public safety by increasing the number of guns in communities.
We need champions for the Second Amendment, or our rights will be eaten away and eroded each day,” he said. “I support my decision, and I have no takebacks.”
Rittenhouse fatally shot two people and injured one at the 2020 riot over the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha police. Blake, a then-29-year-old Black man, was left paralyzed from the waist down.
Rittenhouse claimed he acted in self-defense after some people at the riot chased him, and he was ultimately acquitted of murder charges in November 2021.
Trump said that year he met with Rittenhouse, and he praised his character during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“He came over with his mother. Really a nice young man,” the former president said. “And what he went through, that was prosecutorial misconduct. He should not have had to suffer through a trial for that. He’s a really good, young guy.”
Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.