what happened to kyle rittenhouse

Kyle Rittenhouse is a young American man who became nationally known after shooting three people—killing two and wounding one—during civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020. He was acquitted on all charges in November 2021 after his lawyers successfully argued he acted in self‑defense.

What happened in Kenosha

• Rittenhouse, then 17, traveled from Illinois to Kenosha amid protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

• On August 25, 2020, he was armed with an AR‑15–style rifle and shot Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber, and Gaige Grosskreutz in separate confrontations. Two of the men died; Grosskreutz survived with serious injuries.

• Prosecutors charged him with multiple counts, including homicide; the jury ultimately found him not guilty on all counts, a verdict that sparked intense national debate.

Life after the trial

• After the acquittal, Rittenhouse gave high‑profile media interviews, including with Fox News, where he said he is “not a racist” and expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

• He launched a “Media Accountability Project” (TMAP) to fund lawsuits against media outlets he claims defamed him, and has continued to appear at conservative‑leaning speaking events and campuses.

Recent developments (2024–2026)

• In 2024, he was named outreach director for Texas Gun Rights , a pro‑Second Amendment group, signaling his ongoing role in gun‑rights activism.

• In late 2025, he announced his marriage to Bella Rittenhouse and signaled he was “back in the fight,” hinting at deeper involvement in politics and advocacy.

• As of early 2026, he remains a polarizing public figure, frequently weighing in on gun‑rights debates and current events, such as defending armed citizens in the wake of other high‑profile shootings.

How people view him today

• Supporters see him as a self‑defense symbol and a victim of media bias, often framing his case as a defense of Second Amendment rights.

• Critics argue the outcome reflects systemic inequities in how violence is treated when committed by young white men versus others, and they point to the deaths of Huber and Rosenbaum as unresolved loss.

If you want, the next step could be a short timeline table of key events in his case and public life.