Kyle Rittenhouse Steps Away From Public Eye, Deletes Social Media Accounts, Leaves Gun Shop Job

Kyle Rittenhouse quietly shuttered his social media accounts and stepped back from the spotlight at some point during the past few months, an about-face from the slew of public speaking appearances and media interviews he did in the wake of his November 2021 acquittal.

Rittenhouse, then 18, was on trial for shooting three men, two of them fatally, during the August 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, WI over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse was charged with five counts (first degree reckless homicide, first degree recklessly endangering safety, first degree recklessly endangering safety, first degree intentional homicide, and attempted first degree intentional homicide) and was facing a maximum sentence of life in prison. His attorneys argued that he had acted in self-defense, and a jury found him not guilty on all five counts.

After the acquittal, Rittenhouse became somewhat of a media darling on the right, and made multiple appearances on Tucker Carlson’s show while he was still on Fox News and Charlie Kirk’s podcast. He met with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago shortly after the trial and was warmly feted as a guest of honor at several events held by Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA.

Rittenhouse also launched several of his own ventures, including social media channels, a podcast, a book titled Acquitted, a video game, a political nonprofit allied with far-right megadonors in Texas, a “media accountability project,” and promotional agreements for gun-related products, like a “Rittenhouse Always Ready Bundle” sold by Armored Republic in 2024 that included a body armor vest,  ceramic armor plates, a hydration pouch, magazine holders, and first-aid supplies.

The “Rittenhouse Always Ready Bundle” is no longer available on Armored Republic’s website — and it’s not the only element of Rittenhouse’s online presence that appears to have disintegrated into the digital ether.

Several of Rittenhouse’s social media accounts have been deleted and others have stopped being updated. No explanation appears to have been posted anywhere by Rittenhouse or his representatives.

His former accounts on Twitter/X (@ThisIsKyleR) and Instagram (@ThisIsKyleRittenhouse) are both gone.

Screenshot via X.

Screenshot via Instagram.

Rittenhouse launched a YouTube channel for his podcast, The Tactically Inappropriate Podcast, in October 2022, but it has not been updated since a video posted on April 26. The last post on the show’s Instagram account is dated February 27, and the Tactically Inappropriate website does not seem to have ever progressed past the “under construction” stage.

WTMJ, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin radio station, reported in early February that Rittenhouse had relocated from Texas to the Florida panhandle and was working for Gulf Coast Gun & Outdoors in Milton.

A post on the gun shop’s Facebook page announced Rittenhouse was now working there full-time.

“Come buy your next pew pew from Kyle Rittenhouse!!!” the post’s caption said. “Kyle loved you guys so much, he decided he wants to work at GCG full time. So come on down, meet the Kenosha Kid and get a great deal on all your 2A needs. Kyle will even ring you up. Also we have put 90% of our pew pews on red tag sale. Come welcome Kyle to the GCG team.”

Screenshot via Facebook.

According to WTMJ, gun shop owner Chris Smith posted a Facebook Live video in which he and Rittenhouse “tout a new rifle designed by Rittenhouse and dubbed the ‘KR-15’ that was given out as part of a promotion at the store.” That video has since been deleted or set to private restrictions.

Mediaite reached out to Gulf Coast Gun & Outdoors via phone Tuesday afternoon and spoke to Smith, the gun shop owner, to ask about Rittenhouse deleting social media accounts and to verify if he was still employed by his shop.

Smith told Mediaite that Rittenhouse was not working at the shop any more, and emphasized that he was “still friends” with Rittenhouse and the two spoke frequently, almost every day.

“He’s not interested in any news media,” Smith said, but if he was, “he would talk to Tucker [Carlson] or Sean [Hannity].”

“He’s perfectly fine,” Smith added, and “doing something he’s passionate about,” but would not elaborate on what that meant.

Mediaite left contact information for Smith to pass on to Rittenhouse if he would like to provide a comment, but did not receive a reply.