Kyle Rittenhouse is requesting donations after a federal judge ruled on Feb. 1 that the father of one of the men he fatally shot can move forward with his wrongful death lawsuit.
Rittenhouse killed two men in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during the Jacob Blake protests on Aug. 25, 2020. Blake was shot seven times in the back by the police and left partially paralyzed.
Rittenhouse, who is a MAGA supporter, used an AR-style rifle to fatally shoot two unarmed men during the protests. He later claimed he wanted to protect the businesses.
Rittenhouse shot and killed 26-year-old Anthony Huber and 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum. He also shot an injured 27-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz, who was armed. The men chased Rittenhouse believing he was an active shooter. Rittenhouse claimed self-defense and was acquitted on all counts in November 2021. Huber’s father, John Huber, filed a civil lawsuit over his son’s death following the acquittal.
Huber’s attorney Anand Swaminathan told the Washington Post that the ruling brings them one step closer to getting justice for the family. “Yesterday’s ruling puts Anthony’s family one step closer to justice for their son’s needless death,” said Swaminathan. “The lawsuit will proceed to discovery, allowing full transparency into the events of that fateful and tragic evening.”
The lawsuit also names the city of Kenosha and the county of Kenosha, Kenosha County Sheriff David G. Beth, acting Kenosha Police Chief Eric Larsen and former Kenosha Police Department Chief Daniel G. Miskinis.
People reacted to Rittenhouse’s donation requests on social media. “Sorry but I already gave to the people who’s suing you. Maybe next time,” wrote one Twitter user.
“Just like O.J., he might have escaped legal responsibility, but his wife’s family was able to sue in a civil court,” wrote another Twitter user. “Burden of proof is less too. Rittenhouse might not have any assets but he will be paying for the rest of his miserable life. Good!”
“A judge ruled a wrongful death lawsuit may proceed against Kyle Rittenhouse,” wrote another user. “Kyle complained to Tucker Carlson how unfair he’s treated by the media. It’s not the media’s job to make him look good. He wants better coverage? He can start by being a better person.”
Others defended the killer. “WOW – A Judge is allowing a wrongful death lawsuit to proceed against Kyle Rittenhouse. Who else thinks Kyle Rittenhouse did nothing wrong??”
Rittenhouse’s attorney Shane P. Martin tried to have the lawsuit dismissed claiming that Huber had no “plausible claims” against Rittenhouse and doubled down on RIttenhouse’s self-defense claims. Martin also claimed that Huber’s attorneys failed to serve Rittenhouse with a copy of the complaint properly. He said that Huber’s attorneys did not properly serve Rittenhouse because he does not live at the residence where the documents were served to his sister in Florida, where his mother also lives. He also claimed that Huber failed to show Rittenhouse conspired with law enforcement to hurt protesters based on race.
“We disagree that Mr. Huber has stated any plausible claims against Kyle,” Martin told the Washington Post. “Although this ruling allows the case to proceed for now, it does not change the facts. There simply was no conspiracy between Kyle and the Kenosha police to single out Anthony Huber, and as one jury has already found, Kyle’s actions that night were not wrongful and were taken in self-defense.”
The judge ruled that Huber’s attorney’s hired private detectives to locate Rittenhouse who had “spent more than 100 hours searching for Rittenhouse all over the country.” Judge Adelman also ruled that Rittenhouse had been trying to evade receiving the court documents. “Rittenhouse, in contrast, is almost certainly evading service.”
Rittenhouse has a history of asking for donations. At a fundraiser held on GiveSendGo, Rittenhouse raised $586,940 last year. He also raised nearly half a million dollars through FreeKyleUSA before his trial in 2021.
