‘Probably Not the Best Idea to Go Down There’: Kyle Rittenhouse Reflects on Going to Kenosha During Riots

Kyle Rittenhouse said on Monday that if he were he able to go back in time, he would not have been in Kenosha, Wisconsin on the night he shot three people in August of 2020.

Rittenhouse was 17 years old when he shot three men, killing two, during riots in Kenosha last year after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man. Rittenhouse was acquitted last month on all charges related to the shootings.

“Hindsight being 20/20, probably not the best idea to go down there. Can’t change that, but I defended myself and that’s what happened,” said Rittenhouse on The Blaze’s You Are Here, hosted by Elijah Schaffer and Sydney Watson.

“Everyone should be able to defend themselves,” added Rittenhouse. “I think it’s a God-given right, the right to self-defense. That’s what was on trial in Wisconsin, the right to self-defense.”

Rittenhouse’s mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, told CBS News toward the end of her son’s trial, “If he had to do it all over again, he probably would not go down to Kenosha. Kyle’s nature is to help people.” When asked if her son regrets going to the Wisconsin town on that dangerous and fateful night, she replied, “Yeah, he does.”

Since his acquittal, in addition to The Blaze, Rittenhouse has been interviewed by Fox News, NewsNation and The Charlie Kirk Show.