In an apparent attempt to remain nominally relevant while also currying favor with the right-wing extremists who worship failed, one-term, twice-impeached former President Donald Trump, acquitted Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse posted a video on Twitter using footage from his trial edited onto a background showing a gas pump.
No, it’s not Lemon Heads.. it’s the burning hole in my pocket thanks to a Joe Biden presidency.. 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/UpPvfHEjRv
Apparently Kyle thinks it’s just a joke that he shot and killed two people in Wisconsin and got away with it. Hilarious, huh? Nothing like laughing at death and destruction. Does this kid sit and watch war footage from Ukraine and burst out laughing, too?
Twitter was not the least bit impressed, and they let Rittenhouse know it.
Acquitted Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse told Fox News host Tucker Carlson Monday evening that he’s creating what he calls “The Media Accountability Project” for the purpose of suing media outlets who reported on his shooting of two people at a Black Lives Matter protest in Wisconsin.
Newsweek reports that Rittenhouse said his new project is meant to punish the media for their “lies.”
“We’re looking at quite a few politicians, celebrities, athletes.
“Whoopi Goldberg is on the list, she called me a murderer after I was acquitted by a jury of my peers. She went on to still say that. And there’s others, don’t forget about Cenk [Uygur] from the Young Turks. He called me a murderer before verdict and continues to call me a murderer.”
Kyle Rittenhouse announces he is launching the Media Accountability Project to raise money to sue media companies. pic.twitter.com/aaWDionLrJ
However, legal experts noted that Rittenhouse’s attempts to sue the media for defamation won’t have any success because there’s a little thing called the First Amendment.
“Did someone call Rittenhouse a ‘convicted murderer’?
“Because, to my knowledge, you can be a murderer factually, even if you’re legally acquitted. An acquittal doesn’t really change that one murdered another.”
Former MSNBC host David Schuster echoed Lawrence’s comments:
The courts have long established that calling somebody a “murderer” is an opinion + a legal right, even after the person is found “not guilty.” At that point, one can still call them a murderer, just not a “convicted murderer.” Nobody has called Rittenhouse that. He has no case. https://t.co/0hbmAqhAuy
Quick: When you hear the name Kyle Rittenhouse, what image pops into your head? It’s probably the pudgy face of an 18-year-old gun nut weeping on the witness stand to pretend he actually felt bad about shooting and killing two unarmed men during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August of last year.
In other words, this is likely what comes to mind when you hear the name Kyle Rittenhouse:
But according to some right-wingers, the image that should actually occur to you is that of Jesus Christ.
Wait…what?!
Yes, according to Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA (think Hitler Youth with a devotion to Trump instead of Adolf), Rittenhouse is a great deal like all sorts of Biblical characters who were wrongly accused:
“We brought Kyle Rittenhouse to the front stage, that’s a win. It’s a win for due process, it’s a win for presumption of innocence—all Biblical values, by the way.
“Plenty of people were wrongfully accused all throughout the Bible, especially the Old Testament, including Jesus Christ himself.
“And so yes, there’s lots of wins happening, and we need to celebrate that.”
Charlie Kirk compared Kyle Rittenhouse to wrongly accused Bible characters “including Jesus Christ.” pic.twitter.com/pWwJF9aBxj
At the risk of betraying the goodwill that’s supposed to be a part of the Christmas season, this needs to be said in response to Charlie Kirk: Are you crazy?! Jesus and Kyle Rittenhouse are NOTHING alike. To even mention them in the same sentence is not only blasphemous, it’s the sort of shit that used to start holy wars and wound up causing hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Twitter was only too happy to correct Kirk and remind him that his knowledge of the Bible is non-existent, as is his so-called faith:
After Peter drew his sword and cut off a soldier’s ear, Jesus said unto Peter “Put down the sword. Those that live by the sword, die by the sword so use an AR-15 instead”
Who can forget when Jesus took up arms to protect the merchants of Jerusalem? Especially, when he killed the 3 wise men so they wouldn't kill him first. It's my favorite Christmas story. Silencer Night.
Jesus Christ who famously mowed down the First twenty romans that tried to arrest him and when asked if he was the Son of God answered "I want a lawyer"
Now that he’s been found not guilty of fatally shooting two Black Lives Matter protesters in August of 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse apparently wants us to believe that he’s moving on with his life, telling members of the media that he’ll be attending Arizona State University in the spring as a undergraduate student in pre-law.
However, Arizona State says Rittenhouse hasn’t applied to their university.
In a statement to Forbes Friday, ASU spokesperson Jay Thorne said: “Mr. Rittenhouse withdrew from the two online courses for which he had signed up; he is welcome to apply for admissions and will be treated as any other applicant would be if and when he does.”
You may recall that when it became public knowledge a couple of weeks ago that Rittenhouse was taking online courses at ASU, student protests began on campus:
After news of his ties to the university were made public during the proceedings, students at ASU flew into an uproar, staging protests and chanting things like “Killer Kyle off our campus.” Rittenhouse supporters also flocked to campus in an attempt to defend the teenager.
So Rittenhouse isn’t enrolled at ASU? That’s the word from the university, and yet Rittenhouse continues to claim he is indeed a student:
Rittenhouse contested the school’s statement Wednesday during an appearance on far-right political commentator Steven Crowder’s podcast “Louder with Crowder.”
“They came out with a statement saying oh, no no no no, he’s not enrolled at ASU anymore,” Rittenhouse said. “I’m like, I’m enrolled, I’m just not in any classes. I’m admitted, I have a student portfolio.”
But a look at the university’s website would seem to confirm that Rittenhouse may be stretching the truth:
It appears Rittenhouse is too late to submit an application for the spring 2022 semester — the admission deadline was Nov. 1, according to the university’s website. Though a spokesperson for the university said he can always apply for the fall semester — or at any time in the future.
Much like his political hero, Donald Trump, it would seem that Kyle Rittenhouse lies about everything.
Even though he was found not guilty by a jury in Wisconsin, Kyle Rittenhouse is learning that his actions will continue to have repercussions for the rest of his life.
Rittenhouse was enrolled in nursing classes at Arizona State University. That information came out during his trial, according toThe Sacramento Bee:
He testified at his recent trial that he was enrolled as an online student at ASU, where he was studying nursing, The Arizona Republic reported.
However, the university clarified that Rittenhouse is not enrolled in the nursing program and is actually a non-degree-seeking student, a status that allows students to take classes for “transfer credit, personal growth or as prerequisites for a desired program,” according to the university’s independent student news organization, The State Press.
But students at ASU weren’t exactly ready to welcome Rittenhouse into their ranks, even as an online enrollee:
Kyle Rittenhouse is no longer enrolled in classes at Arizona State University, a university spokesperson told McClatchy News.
Student groups upset that he was enrolled at one point say they still plan to push school officials to denounce white supremacy, Students for Socialism at ASU said in a Tweet.
Rittenhouse is still facing the possibility of federal charges being filed against him, and the families of the people he killed are also considering filing civil lawsuits against him that could leave him and his family penniless, according to NBC News:
If Rittenhouse were taken to civil trial for wrongful death, the teen could claim self-defense, as he did during the criminal case. He has said that he went to Kenosha to protect property from rioters but that he came under attack and feared for his life when he shot three people, two of them fatally.
But the burden of proof civil plaintiffs need to make, by a preponderance of evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt, is much lower than what Kenosha prosecutors faced during the criminal trial, legal experts say.
Rory Little, a professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law, noted:
“In a civil case you just have to prove negligence. Did his conduct fall below the standard of care that the average person would have?
“(Rittenhouse) could say, ‘I didn’t have the intent to kill anyone — I just panicked.’ The jury could still say, ‘We didn’t think the average person would do what you did.’ If your conduct is judged to be less than that, you lose.”
Kyle is already losing. And it appears that streak will continue.
