The teenager that critics say got away with murder is back on social media after a months-long absence, and plenty of people don’t like it. In fact, they’re calling on social platforms to ban the now 22-year-old right-wing activist Kyle Rittenhouse permanently.
Rittenhouse, who was acquitted of murdering two people and wounding a third during Black Lives Matter protests in Wisconsin during the summer of 2020, reappeared on X earlier this month touting his marriage and weight loss.
“I’m back on social media, I’m back in the fight, and I’m here to stay,” he wrote on X, sharing photos of his new wife.
In a post dated Wednesday, Dec. 17, Rittenhouse claimed he’s changed and bragged, “Same guy. Different mindset. Nearly 100 lbs down over the last 18 months. Healthier body. Clearer mind. Happier life… and now, a beautiful wife. Change is possible through Christ. Don’t give up on yourself.”
Needless to say, his return was met with anger and taunting online, with some taking it a step further on Thursday, Dec. 18, and calling on social platforms to remove him completely.
“Today Is Block Kyle Rittenhouse Day,” Threads user Tannebock stated, urging followers to “Go to his site / sites and Block Him.” Rittenhouse has accounts on X, Instagram and Facebook.
View on Threads
They added, “He should be in prison. He should not be allowed to be married and procreate. He should not be allowed to live a normal life. He has no regrets about what he did. He went there to intentionally harm or take lives.”
Another Threads user agreed, “Y’all know what to do. But report the entire account as ‘a dangerous person or organization,’” the Pretty Auntie encouraged on Threads.
This poster took offense at Rittenhouse boasting about his weight loss and tattoos.
“The fat shot did you wonders. I find it hilarious that you have the American flag and constitution tattooed on your arm when the military turned you away,” Ry Shead said on Threads with 11 laughing emojis next to his post.
Rittenhouse is already dealing with major blowback since his return to social media. In a post on Dec. 12, he showed up outside a Florida jail to support an accused killer, claiming the man, identified as Michael Rediker, was justified in killing a husband and father of two small children under the state’s stand your ground law.
The post angered Walton County and prompted Sheriff Michael Adkinson to respond, even tagging Rittenhouse and his attorney, Anthony Sabatini.
“I’m actually just disgusted with @rittenhouse2a and @AnthonySabatini,” the sheriff wrote before laying out the facts in the case.
“A man lost his life yesterday. A father. A husband. With two small children,” the sheriff continued.
Adkinson said the victim was unarmed, on his own property, and trying to protect his wife from an assault by Rediker when he was “murdered.”
“There was no fight. There was no attack. And as he lay dying on the ground, the suspect stood over him and made comments he will answer for in court,” the sheriff stated, adding, “I think both of you are jokes.”
Rittenhouse, you might remember, is from Antioch, Illinois, and the then-17-year-old traveled the short distance to Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August of 2020 as BLM protests rocked the city over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by a white police officer.
Rittenhouse, reportedly a police enthusiast up to that point, showed up to the protests toting an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. It’s believed he was part of a vigilante group patrolling the city, according to NBC Chicago, and was captured on video with them.
Rittenhouse, after a series of confrontations with protesters, shot three people that night, two of them fatally, and all of them white. He was charged with murder and other counts, but in 2021, he was acquitted on all charges.
