Just days after Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty after being charged with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted homicide, among other charges, related to the Aug. 25, 2020 shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the 19-year-old said this week that he will be suing individuals and media companies for negative press coverage, he claims that people need to take accountability for their actions and spreading “lies”.
During an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s late-night show, Rittenhouse shared the launch of his Media Accountability Project, a donation fund to finance his intended lawsuits.
Rittenhouse’s team is currently considering lawsuits against politicians, athletes, and celebrities whom he claims have spread lies about him. The list includes Whoopi Goldberg, co-host of “The View” on ABC.
“She called me a murderer after I was acquitted by a jury of my peers,” Rittenhouse said. “And there’s others. Don’t forget about Cenk Uygur from ‘The Young Turks.’ He called me a murderer before the verdict and continues to call me a murderer.”
Rittenhouse said he will also be pursuing anyone who has labeled him a white supremacist saying, “They’re all going to be held accountable. And we’re going to handle them in a courtroom.”
Rittenhouse fatally shot Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum as well as wounding Gaige Grosskreutz in protests that broke out in Kenosha after the shooting of Jacob Blake at the hands of a police officer, in August 2020.
The teen was 17 years old at the time and was armed with a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semiautomatic rifle, which sparked a national debate over gun regulation.
Despite being acquitted by “a jury of [his] peers,” Rittenhouse claims that various media outlets and public figures have persisted to label him a “murderer” and a “white supremacist.”
Rittenhouse announced the launch of his new effort with a video on Twitter late Monday night.
The video begins with a quote from Malcolm X: “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power.”
Sources: Theragingpatriot, Theguardian, Yahoo