Kyle Rittenhouse spoke exclusively to Breitbart News about the release of his book, Acquitted, and stressed that while being acquitted spared him a lifetime in prison it has not spared him from being screamed at in public, harassed, and sued.
Rittenhouse faced two charges of murder, one charge of attempted murder, and two charges of reckless endangerment relating to a melée near midnight on August 25, 2020, during Black Lives Matter riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
His trial was an emotional roller coaster, with Rittenhouse on the verge of breaking down more than once.
On November 19, 2021, a jury acquitted him on all charges, finding that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense.
WATCH — Watch: Kyle Rittenhouse Breaks Down, Collapses as He Is Found “Not Guilty” on All Counts:
Rittenhouse has just released an autobiographical book on his experiences, and the book includes a look at his upbringing, touching on his relations with his parents, time he spent living homeless, and other aspects of his life pertinent to why and how he was in Kenosha on August 25, 2020.
Speaking with Breitbart News, Rittenhouse said, “The book provides insight into numerous struggles — past drug problems, homelessness, etc. — and also how my family dynamic is different than what people might think.”
He added, “The book talks about my time living in a homeless shelter with my mom and sisters when I was really young, and then living in government housing, on food stamps, and welfare. In the book I talk about how my mom worked non-stop trying to make money and was never really home.”
Rittenhouse noted that he emerged from struggles — both familial and poverty/drug related — wanting to help others, saying, “I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter/paramedic; I’ve always seen that as a way to help people.”
WATCH — White House Refuses to Say if Joe Biden Will Apologize to Kyle Rittenhouse for Claiming He Was a White Supremacist:
We discussed August 25, 2020, and defending oneself with lethal force, to which he said, “The second you pull the trigger, that action has a consequence good or bad. You’re going to be put on trial and either go to prison the rest of your life or you’re going to be found not guilty, because you acted to defend yourself. But even if you’re found not guilty, there are other consequences. You have to live with the decision you made and that fraction of second in which the decision is made is not easy.”
He continued, “Good or bad, when you have to take an action to defend your own life and that action takes another life, you have to figure out how to deal with that. Being prepared to defend yourself is one thing, but taking a life in the course of defending yourself is something you cannot prepare for.”
We asked Rittenhouse if he has had time to gather himself and enjoy freedom since being acquitted and he said, “There has certainly been time when it has been a relief, but it’s also been non-stop on the other end — facing civil lawsuits, getting harassed, and other things that pile on stress. I am so grateful that I’m not facing life in prison, but dealing with lawsuits from three different people is not easy and it is expensive. I’m 20-years-old trying to work out how to deal with all this.”
RELATED VIDEO — Kyle Rittenhouse: “Our God-Given Right to Self Defense” Saved My Life:
Jack Knudsen / Breitbart NewsHow does Rittenhouse cope with post-Kenosha life? He says he copes in large part because of his service dog, Milo.
Rittenhouse said, “He is a golden retriever and I wrote an entire chapter in the book about him. I wrote about coming home to him from the trial, how he helped me with panic attacks and PTSD, and Milo has really been my pillar of support.”
Kyle’s book, Acquitted, is on pre-sale right now and is expected to be available in print in coming weeks.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com
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