In an exclusive tell-all interview with Tucker Carlson that aired on Monday evening, 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse described what happened during the Kenosha, Wis. riots that led to a lengthy court battle resulting in a verdict exonerating him of all related charges and justifying his right to self-defense.
Now that he is free to walk, Rittenhouse hinted that he may file defamation lawsuits toward those that wrongfully painted a false image and mischaracterization of him.
Blasting Joe Biden’s false assessment of his case, Rittenhouse said, “Mr. President, if I could say one thing to you, I would urge you to go back and watch the trial and understand the facts before you make a statement.”
“It’s actual malice, defaming my character, for him to say something like that,” Rittenhouse said, referring to Biden’s suggestion that he is a white supremacist.
He even went so far as to say he supports the BLM movement’s right to protest. However, he was disappointed to see the movement overtaken by opportunists that simply wanted to burn down cities and cause harm, rather than peacefully protest and assemble.
“This case had nothing to do with race, it never had anything to do with race. It had to do with the right to self-defense,” he said.
Referring to mainstream media, Rittenhouse said the lies that they can “just get away with spreading” is “sickening, and it’s a disgrace to this country.”
Throughout the interview, the 18-year-old described his disappointment of the riots and arson that happened in Kenosha which is home to many family and friends of his. Rittenhouse offered to help out businesses in the area because it upset him to see his community “up in flames,” especially as Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers failed to take action against violent arsonists assaulting Wisconsin cities.
“The National Guard should have been called August 23rd but the city of Kenosha failed the community; the governor Tony Evers failed the community, and there should have been a lot more resources to help with that,” Rittenhouse said.
Making a very important clarification in his case, Rittenhouse dispelled rumors that he attempted to flee law enforcement after he fatally shot his two attackers in self-defense. He said that he sought help from the police or any law enforcement that would have been present that night, but nobody offered him assistance even as he tried to let police know what he had done. Rittenhouse said he could not turn himself in at Kenosha’s local police department because the station was barricaded and “closed” due to the riots, so he drove “across state lines” to turn himself in at the nearest station.
Although he knew he “did nothing wrong,” he understood that he had to turn himself in because it was “the right thing to do.” “This has been 100% self defense from the beginning; I knew I was attacked and I defended myself,” Rittenhouse said.
When Carlson asked what he thought would have happened if the video evidence that helped him succeed in the trial did not exist, Rittenhouse’s responded: “I can’t even imagine; I don’t think we’d be sitting here right now having this talk, Tucker.”
He described being taken advantage of by his initial lawyers, including Lin Wood and John Pierce. Shortly after the interview aired on Fox News, Marjorie Taylor-Greene responded with a tweet supporting the 18-year-old, saying that Lin Wood is a “horrible person” that kept Kyle in jail for up to 87 days and raised money on his behalf, rather than helping him get out sooner.
Moving forward after the trial, Rittenhouse appears determined on filing defamation lawsuits against those that misconstrued his name and damaged his reputation. “I have really good lawyers who are taking care of that right now,” he said. “One day there will be accountability for their actions, for what they did.”
