Two years ago this week a jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse, now 20, of five charges (including two counts of first-degree murder) related to his gunning down Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding a third man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020. This week Rittenhouse began hawking a glossy new memoir, “Acquitted,” that he calls “the real and honest version of my story.”
In reality, Rittenhouse’s latest media effort is less about sharing his truth and more about strengthening his position as a far-right political player.
Rittenhouse’s latest media effort is less about sharing his truth and more about strengthening his position as a far-right political player.
Earlier this year, a judge gave Rosenbaum’s family the go-ahead to sue Rittenhouse in civil court, where he could face millions of dollars in damages. The judge’s decision came after Rittenhouse had spent months on the run in an effort to evade being served legal documents. In August, lawyers for Rosenbaum’s estate filed a lawsuit against Rittenhouse (as well as several local law enforcement agencies).
Ritterhouse’s decision to re-enter the national conversation with a memoir and this summer’s creation of the Rittenhouse Foundation is perfectly timed to capitalize on the 2024 campaign cycle. Bolstered by glowing interviews with the likes of Tucker Carlson and propped up by some of the Republican Party’s most extreme money men, Rittenhouse appears to be already preparing the country for an eventual political debut.
Rittenhouse’s new memoir isn’t a desperate attempt to remain relevant. It’s more like the opening charge of a well-funded public relations campaign designed to build Rittenhouse’s personal brand into a political powerhouse. One of Rittenhouse’s many fundraising appeals garnered more $200,000 from sympathetic backers. In politics, the ability to raise that kind of money doesn’t go unnoticed for long, and Republican strategists were soon urging Rittenhouse to think…
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