Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyer went on Fox News Monday and shared some of the advice he’s given to his client, which was to “change his name and start his life over.”
Mark Richards said that in his opinion, this would be a better option than letting his name be co-opted by those looking to cash in on his newfound celebrity and turn him into “a symbol of something I don’t think he wants to necessarily be associated with.”
Rittenhouse himself recently gave an interview to Tucker Carlson (yuck) where he said he supports the Black Lives Matter movement. To what degree you believe that is true is up to you but it does certainly put a damper on the Republican politicians and other public figures who have been gleefully celebrating Rittenhouse’s acquittal, presenting him as a “hero” and gloating about his ability to shoot and kill protesters without consequences.
These people are treating the verdict—a verdict that involves the deaths of two people—like a Super Bowl win and it’s incredibly disturbing.
Kyle Rittenhouse ACQUITTED on ALL charges!
May Kyle and his family now live in peace.
Those who help, protect, and defend are the good guys.
Kyle is one of good ones.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) November 19, 2021
Be like Kyle. He represents the best of us.
— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) November 19, 2021
This much is true: Kyle Rittenhouse is the hero we’ve been waiting for throughout the turbulent summer of 2020, where a Black Lives Matter/Antifa/Bolshevik revolution has our country on the brink of total chaos.#KyleRittenhouse vindicated!https://t.co/9IoxuiCZOF
— VDARE (@vdare) November 19, 2021
It seems we’re rushing headlong to a place where the fastest way to become a right wing hero is to kill people, which is terrifying. Please don’t celebrate violence. Even if you support Rittenhouse verdict don’t celebrate & honor violence.
— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨 (@AnnaForFlorida) November 19, 2021
Richards told Fox News that “there’s a lot of people who want to use Kyle for their own means.” At least one progressive PAC has used Rittenhouse’s name recently to fundraise for Democratic political candidates so this isn’t a purely partisan issue. But the absolute glee coming from the right in trying to capitalize on the verdict and lionize Rittenhouse for killing protesters is especially gross.
Specifically answering a question about the Republican members of Congress who have talked about getting Rittenhouse on their staff—which includes Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, and Madison Cawthorne—Richards said, “People want to use his name, get it out there so they can get some publicity. I think it’s cheap. That’s what I think.”
Justice was served for #KyleRittenhouse and he is fully exonerated. As I said last year, obviously self-defense.
I will arm wrestle @mattgaetz to get dibs for Kyle as an intern. https://t.co/kon65IB1d9
— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) November 19, 2021
That was the Fox News answer but speaking to Business Insider over the weekend, Richards used even harsher language, calling those attempts to profit off of Rittenhouse “disgusting.”
“There’s a lot of people trying to profit on this, and I don’t think people should,” he said. “They’re raising money on it and you have all these Republican congressmen saying come work for me. They want to trade on his celebrity and I think it’s disgusting.”
One of those disgusting people celebrating Rittenhouse for shooting protesters is Donald Trump Jr. In a since-deleted tweet, he wrote, “Gun Owners of America is sending Kyle Rittenhouse an AR-15. Sign the card in support of Kyle. Americans have a fundamental right to defend themselves and to keep and bear arms. The verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial is a recognition of those rights.”
When asked what he thought of that, Richards said, “He’s an idiot. I don’t have to expand on that because it speaks for itself.”
I wasn’t expecting to agree with Kyle Rittenhouse’s defense attorney about anything ever but here we are. Don Jr.’s stupidity really is the great unifier.
(via HuffPost, image: Sean Krajacic-Pool/Getty Images)
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Published: Nov 23, 2021 02:46 pm