Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, commended teen gunman Kyle Rittenhouse on Thursday and said he believes he should be acquitted of killing two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The four-term congressman argued during a radio interview that video shared widely on social media seems to show Mr. Rittenhouse, 17, acting justly last Tuesday night in Kenosha.
“I think the strongest thing he has for him is the actual video evidence. And if I were on a jury and all I had was the evidence that I have been able to acquire through social media and the videos that are out there, I would not convict him of a single one of these charges,” Mr. Massie said on WVHU.
“He also exhibited incredible restraint and presence and situational awareness,” Mr. Massie said later during the interview. “He didn’t empty a magazine into a crowd. There were people around him who could have caused him harm. But as soon as they showed any sign of retreat or nonaggression – he did not shoot them. He exhibited more restraint than a lot of the police videos that I have seen. What does it say about a country where this lawlessness is going on to the extent that a 17-year-old feels compelled to stop it? To be the one to turn the tide? I think it says a lot for the 17-year-old.”
The Kentucky Democratic Party was quick to condemn the congressman’s remarks after the interview aired. “Unbelievable,” it said on Twitter, adding Kentucky Republicans should “disavow Massie’s comments immediately.”
Mr. Rittenhouse was arrested last Wednesday in his home state of Illinois and charged in connection with shooting three people the night before in Kenosha, killing two of them.
He faces counts of first-degree intentional homicide, reckless homicide, attempted intentional homicide and recklessly endangering safety and is currently being held in Illinois.
Lawyers defending Mr. Rittenhouse claim he was in Kenosha armed with an AR-15 style rifle “to deter property damage” after protests descended into riots the night before.
“He did nothing wrong,” defense lawyer John M. Pierce said last week. “He defended himself, which is a fundamental right of all Americans given by God and protected by law.”
President Trump suggested this week that video seemed to show the teen acted in self-defense. “He probably would have been killed,” Mr. Trump said Monday.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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