Kyle Rittenhouse said Tuesday on NewsNation’s “Banfield” that he was unaware the people with which he posed for a picture in a Wisconsin bar last January were Proud Boys.
Reading a viewer’s question, anchor Ashleigh Banfield said, “You have stated that you are not a racist, but there’s video footage of you using hand signs that are used by groups that are considered many to be white supremacists. Why have you associated with members of groups like the Proud Boys? Why have you used hand signs that are commonly associated with white supremacy?”
Rittenhouse said, “That’s a good question. I didn’t know that the OK hand sign was a symbol for white supremacy, just as I didn’t know those people in the bar were Proud Boys. They were set up by my former attorney, who was fired because of that, for putting me in situations like that with people I don’t agree with by having them set up for security without telling us their background. If I had known that they were Proud Boys, I would have said absolutely not.”
Banfield said, “So, to be clear, which attorney put you in that bar?”
Rittenhouse said, “John Pierce.”
Banfield asked, “He took you to that bar?”
Rittenhouse said, “He arranged it. He wasn’t there, but he set it up and arranged it.”
Banfield asked, “Your attorney arranged for a then-17-year-old to go to a bar to meet those people?”
Rittenhouse said, “For them to do security.”
When asked if he had second thoughts about the meeting, Rittenhouse said, “I definitely don’t think it looked good to hang out with people who are now known to be Proud Boys. I definitely wouldn’t do that again.”
Rittenhouse added, “I found out they were Proud Boys when I saw the headlines. I thought they were just a bunch of, like, construction dudes based on how they looked.”
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