U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- As the news and video of Kyle Rittenhouse defending himself with a Smith and Wesson AR15 rifle against several attackers circulated on the Internet, numerous attempts were made to start donations for people to contribute to his legal defense. Both Gofundme, Fundly, and other accounts were started, only to be taken down by corporate owners almost immediately. Accounts used to fund bail for Antifa and BLM were left up.
Well-known tort lawyer Lin Woods and prominent criminal attorney Pierce Bainbridge stepped up and said they would represent Kyle and family pro-bono, without charge. Numerous other lawyers also agreed to help.
Lin Woods also established a 501c(3) organization as a means to collect funds for Kyle’s defense.
Kyle’s lawyers have released this statement of what happened on the 25th of August in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Of particular interest are the facts that Kyle Rittenhouse was already working as a community lifeguard in Kenosha, and the rifle he used was purchased in Wisconsin. The entire statement is copied below. From twitter.com:
VERNON HILLS, ILLINOIS/ August 28, 2020/ Pierce Bainbridge is honored to represent 17-year old Antioch, Illinois resident Kyle Rittenhouse, who has suddenly found himself at the center of a national firestorm and charged with murder after defending himself from a relentless, vicious and potentially deadly mob attack in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
On August 25th, 2020, Kenosha spiraled into chaos following the Jacob Blake shooting. The Kenosha Mayor and Wisconsin Governor failed to provide a basic degree of law and order to protect the citizens and community buildings in Kenosha. The city burned as mobs destroyed buildings and property, and looters stole whatever they wanted. Rioters defaced storefronts, the courthouse, and many other public and private locations across the city.
After Kyle finished his work that day as a community lifeguard in Kenosha, he wanted to help clean up some of the damage, so he and a friend went to the local public high school to remove graffiti by rioters. Later in the day, they received information about a call for help from a local business owner, whose downtown Kenosha auto dealership was largely destroyed by mob violence. The business owner needed help to protect what he had left of his life’s work, including two nearby mechanic’s shops. Kyle and a friend armed themselves with rifles due to the deadly violence gripping Kenosha and many other American cities, and headed to the business premises. The weapons were in Wisconsin and never crossed state lines.
Upon arrival, Kyle and others stood guard at the mechanic’s shop across from the auto dealership to prevent further damage or destruction. Later that night, substantially after the city’s 8:00 p.m. curfew expired without consequence, the police finally started to attempt to disperse a group of rioters. In doing so, they maneuvered a mass of individuals down the street towards the auto shops. Kyle and others on the premises were verbally threatened and taunted multiple times as the rioters passed by, but Kyle never reacted. His intent was not to incite violence, but simply to deter property damage and use his training to provide first aid to injured community members.
After the crowd passed the premises and Kyle believed the threat of further destruction had passed, he became increasingly concerned with the injured protestors and bystanders congregating at a nearby gas station with no immediate access to medical assistance or help from law enforcement. Kyle headed in that direction with a first aid kit. He sought out injured persons, rendered aid, and tried to guide people to others who could assist to the extent he could do so amid the chaos. By the final time Kyle returned to the gas station and confirmed there were no more injured individuals who needed assistance, police had advanced their formation and blocked what would have been his path back to the mechanic’s shop. Kyle then complied with the police instructions not to go back there. Kyle returned to the gas station until he learned of a need to help protect the second mechanic’s shop further down the street where property destruction was imminent with no police were nearby.
As Kyle proceeded towards the second mechanic’s shop, he was accosted by multiple rioters who recognized that he had been attempting to protect a business the mob wanted to destroy. This outraged the rioters and created a mob now determined to hurt Kyle. They began chasing him down. Kyle attempted to get away, but he could not do so quickly enough. Upon the sound of a gunshot behind him, Kyle turned and was immediately faced with an attacker lunging towards him and reaching for his rifle. He reacted instantaneously and justifiably with his weapon to protect himself, firing and striking the attacker.
Kyle stopped to ensure care for the wounded attacker but faced a growing mob gesturing towards him. He realized he needed to flee for his safety and his survival. Another attacker struck Kyle from behind as he fled down the street. Kyle turned as the mob pressed in on him and he fell to the ground. One attacker kicked Kyle on the ground while he was on the ground. Yet another bashed him over the head with a skateboard. Several rioters tried to disarm Kyle. In fear for his life and concerned the crowd would either continue to shoot at him or even use his own weapon against him, Kyle had no choice but to fire multiple rounds towards his immediate attackers, striking two, including one armed attacker. The rest of the mob began to disperse upon hearing the additional gunshots.
Kyle got up and continued down the street in the direction of police with his hands in the air. He attempted to contact multiple police officers, but they were more concerned with the wounded attackers. The police did not take Kyle into custody at that time, but instead they indicated he should keep moving. He fully cooperated, both then and later that night when he turned himself in to the police in his hometown, Antioch, Illinois.
Kyle did nothing wrong. He exercised his God-given, Constitutional, common law and statutory law right to self-defense.
However, in a reactionary rush to appease the divisive, destructive forces currently roiling this country, prosecutors in Kenosha did not engage in any meaningful analysis of the facts, or any in-depth review of available video footage (some of which shows that a critical state’s witness was not even at the area where the shots were fired); this was not a serious investigation. Rather, after learning Kyle may have had conservative political viewpoints, they immediately saw him as a convenient target who they could use as a scapegoat to distract from the Jacob Blake shooting and the government’s abject failure to ensure basic law and order to citizens. Within 24-36 hours, he was charged with multiple homicide counts.
Kyle now has the best legal representation in the country. With help from Nicholas Sandmann attorney L. Lin Wood, Pierce Bainbridge and multiple top-tier criminal defense lawyers in Wisconsin immediately offered representation to Kyle.
Today, his legal team was successful in working with the public defender to obtain a several-week continuance of his extradition hearing to September 25th. This at least partially slows down the rush to judgment by a government and media that is determined to assassinate his character and destroy his life.
Kyle, his family, the team at Pierce Bainbridge and his other lawyers intend to fight these charges every step of the way, take the case to trial and win an acquittal on the grounds of self-defense before a jury of his peers.
The legal fees and other costs of Kyle’s defense will be provided through donations to #FightBack Foundation Inc., a Texas 501(c)(4) foundation created by John Pierce and Lin Wood to protect law abiding American citizens whose rights are being trampled on by state and local governments that are more concerned with appeasing mobs than protecting those rights.
Pierce Bainbridge founder John Pierce praised Kyle’s strength and resilience. “A 17-year old child should not have to take up arms in America to protect life and property. That is the job of state and local governments. However, those governments have failed, and law-abiding citizens have no choice but to protect their own communities as their forefathers did at Lexington and Concord in 1775. Kyle is not a racist or a white supremacist. He is a brave, patriotic, compassionate law-abiding American who loves his country and his community. He did nothing wrong. He defended himself, which is a fundamental right of all Americans given by God and protected by law. He is now in the cross-hairs of institutional forces that are much more powerful than him. But he will stand up to them and fight not only for himself, but for all Americans and their beloved Constitution. We will never leave his side until he is victorious in that fight.”
Further updates will be provided as the investigation and legal proceedings unfold.
#FightBack
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Free Kyle Rittenhouse and eradicate ANTIFA and BLM.
Get him acquitted and then sue the AG / state into oblivion.
I like that idea
The kid didn’t do anything that anyone else would not have done. He was there to help and he was attacked. He is being made an example of and an excuse for the destruction of our nation. I think the kid did only what had to be done for his survival. He had plenty opportunity to do harm or death to the rest of the rioters but he passed when nobody else attacked him. Think about that. It takes a lot to hold your fire when surrounded by a murderous mob. He tried to turn himself in to the cops… Read more »
@DB – Agreed, however I think he comported himself far better than most would if facing a similar situation. He (1) attempted to avoid confrontation, (2) hit his attackers and (3) as you said, fired with great restraint – only at those posing an immediate deadly threat. It would have been incredibly easy to automatically shift fire to next closest threat and keep shooting. That said, I suspect in charging decision the primary consideration was what choice would minimize ongoing violence. Had they declined to charge him, riots would have intensified dramatically. My impression is that damage was mostly restricted… Read more »
In a combat situation, you most always have, no choice, just survive.
I have no doubt that Kyle Rittenhouse will be exonerated, but what an experience to have to go through at age 17…
“Exoneration” should follow based on all publicly available evidence. But, then again if the evidence matter he would never have been charged and held in custody.
Trump at the very least would pardon him.
So, the President can pardon someone who was convicted of a state criminal offense? Learn something new every day on Ammoland!
Charlie Foxtrot, you are correct. Under the Constitution, only federal criminal convictions, such as those adjudicated in the United States District Courts, may be pardoned by the President. In addition, the President’s pardon power extends to convictions adjudicated in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and military court-martial proceedings. However, the President cannot pardon a state criminal offense. Accordingly, if you are seeking clemency for a state criminal conviction, you should not complete and submit this petition. Instead, you should contact the Governor or other appropriate authorities of the state where you reside or where the conviction occurred… Read more »
I know, hence my comment.
Agreed, but after his full acquittal, I would hope Lin would offer to go after all the libel-media attacks on Rittenhouse, the same as with Nick Sandman. a few dozen law-suits for several million would serve Rittenhouse well and continue to show that biased propaganda media is an expensive venture.
This is an amazing story! That anyone would have the compassion, presence of mind, and courage to help, is the standard to which every adult should aspire, let alone a 17 yr old! Praise God! A pox on those funding site’s practicing political censorship!
Gofundme, Fundly, and other accounts, Time to boycott these….
Never again will I use these accounts
Major Signs Of Impending Civil War “A highly diverse population with conflicting interests, and usually some kind of outside agitating factor. When people in a society are too sharply divided ethnically, ideologically, or economically the stage is set for civil war. *Often an outside actor tips the scales by financing malcontents* or making claims on the leadership of the unstable nation. Weaker, more conciliatory leaders are more likely to be in charge if it’s a liberal or communist revolution taking place, as liberals don’t want concessions, they want to seize power. In general weaker and less device leaders are seen… Read more »
Kyle is a role model for young people and adults too unlike the trash of ANTIFA and BLM. Good luck and God Bless Kyle, we need more like him, both young people and adults to act and stop giving lip service only.
The AG and FBI seriously needs to get a handle on George Soros, Tom Steyer, Bill Gates, and others funding anti-American groups. As well as countries knowingly contributing to the same, e.g. China, Russia, and Iran.
Seems to me they’d be better getting a noose on George Soros, that old Nazi bastard!
Bullets are cheaper, quicker, & make for better live television.
On August 29, 2020, I had commented negatively on the activity and arrest of Kyle Rittenhouse the previous day, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. My comments were based on, what I now understand were incomplete reports about the incident, as published in The New York Post. Since then, and with this posting by Dean Weingarten, I conclude Rittenhouse is a victim, not a perp.
You have demonstrated that you have a brain and the ability to reason. If only everyone did.
I remember being 17 & didn’t like being considered a child. I would guess he feels the same.
@Arny – in the unlikely event that he is convicted, I suspect he would wish he’d been treated as a juvenile. I suspect he will be better of in adult court though – my impression is that minors are not afforded the same rights as adults, often subject to administrative judgement which is often more capricious as to guilt and punishment. We’ve experienced the edge of that insanity a few times as CPS investigated us repeatedly over the stupidest stuff. Teacher reported my youngest because of a drawing she did in school! No violence, sex, nudity or anything else that… Read more »
Today one thing we desperately need in America during these times is a press we can trust. Does anyone else feel that perhaps one of the main reasons why we-are-where-we-are is because the press has lost its trustworthiness and only shows or tells one side of a major news story? Last Wednesday or Thursday, I was watching the PBS NewsHour a full week after the above news-story had already broke the newscast’s contributors: Judy Woodruff, Anchor & Managing Editor; Yamiche Alcindor, White House Correspondent; and Lisa Desjardins, Correspondent; were still reporting on the original news story without contributing any of… Read more »
Most of the major news outlets push propaganda. There’s very little truth out there. Even Fox gets things screwed up although I doubt it’s common practice. Look up the communist manifesto. They explain in detail how they overthrow governments. You are right about Walter Cronkite and his job of telling the news as fact, not guessing or outright lies. The mail in voting idea is full of and prone to corruption and that is exactly why the demoncrapic socialist party is pushing it. Same thing with voter I.D. My dad voted demoncrapic this year for the third year in a… Read more »
This afternoon I was watching Fox News when Bill Hemmer said that George Floyd was shot dead by the police. And no, I did not mistake hearing what he said.
Your recollection of Walter Cronkite does not line up with mine at least as far as his “reporting” of the Vietnam war is concerned. He was a lefty way back then. Some of us saw it and there was even commentary on it during the time he was doing it. It seems like another life it has been so long ago.
IMO, the only thing Kyle’s guilty of, is an excess of compassion for the potential wounded among the rioters. That compassion caused him to violate a cardinal rule, “Never Approach A Mob Alone.” Compassion for the injured is a great virtue, but in Kyle’s case, it instituted a chain of events with a Terrorist Movement that disdains the very concept of virtue.
Looking at this entire situation objectively, the only thing I can see (in my view from the cheap seats) Kyle can get hemmed up on is “minor in possession of a firearm”. This was/is CLEARLY self defense. 3-4 separate attackers. 2 of which had weapons. 1 being a felon in possession of a firearm (where is his arrest?). From all videos and angles this was a good shoot. Lots of folks could learn some lessons from watching the multitude of videos of that night. Situational awareness, escape routes, firearms handling, weapon retention. The list goes on. Lets just hope this… Read more »
Negative on the “minor in possession”. This has already been reviewed by Wisconsin legal experts and the “minor in possession” only has legal references to possession of an NFA item or with a hunting firearm without the hunter’s safety course. Rittenhouse was perfectly legal in his possession of that rifle in Kenosha.
Kyle may have been being attacked when he fled down the street , but he clearly murdered that man at the car dealership. There is video of him running up to the victim and then several shots. He does not try to aide the victim he shot, as it says in the lawyers statement. There is clear video of him looking over the victim as he convulsed and died on the pavement. He does not attempt first aid. He immediately gets on the phone and brags to his friend about killing someone . Kyle was hoping for a kill that… Read more »
You are either a moron, an idiot, or, more likely a troll. In any case you have nothing of value to offer here. Go away.
And with the same gang rape obsession as a certain other new poster. Kinfolk, or just co-workers reading off of the same script? We’ll all have to judge that for ourselves….
You need to watch the video again, Rittenhouse was chased into the car dealership where the violent mob caught up with him and the buffoon tried to take his weapon. There are other videos of this same clown acting aggressively to other armed men earlier in the day.
Mkerner861,
Let me make sure I understood what you wrote. You are threatening to either shoot or kill someone who was defending himself from a mob.
Your analysis is deeply flawed and ignorant. There is way too much evidence to support Rittenhouse’s initial engagement purely as self-defense. The 36-year old, violent, convicted pedophile Rosenbaum, had shown violent tendencies, threw an object at Rittenhouse, and while chasing him, there was a gunshot fired behind Rittenhouse as he was trying to retreat. He had no option but to defend himself. Eye-witness (and reporter) said Rosenbaum tired to pull the rifle away from a fleeing Rittenhouse. Keeping talking tough and ignorant…but this 17-year old has far greater courage in his little trigger finger than you have likely have exhibited… Read more »
Kyle is gonna get prison and gang raped by horny members of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. Plus, lots of sutures and siz baths. Lol!!!!
Something wrong with you dudette……Why don’t you go visit a website more in tune with your inner self?
Eh beta is only here so he can “gather intel” and go back to those sites telling fish tales of how massively he trolled us.
Idk, I thought the aryans were inline with neo-nazis, pretty sure they hate commies too.
I knew sooner or later you would out yourself as a liar as to your supposed work history.