Former President Donald Trump commented on the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse Tuesday on “Hannity” after meeting with the teen in Mar-A-Lago.
Trump said Rittenhouse was subjected to “prosecutorial misconduct.”
“[Rittenhouse] should not have had to suffer through a trial for that. He was going to be dead if he didn’t pull that trigger that guy that put the gun to his head in one-quarter of a second he was going to pull the trigger. Kyle would have been dead,” Trump said.
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger holds Kyle Rittenhouse’s gun as he gives the state’s closing argument in Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. Rittenhouse is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police brutality in Kenosha, last year. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool)
(Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool)
Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, during the August 2020 protests and riots in Kenosha that erupted after police shot Jacob Blake, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. The third person Rittenhouse shot, Gaige Grosskreutz, survived and testified during the trial.
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“He’s a really good young guy … just left Mar-a-Lago a little while ago, and he should never have been put through that. That was prosecutorial misconduct, and it’s happening all over the United States right now with the Democrats.”
The judge admonished the prosecution on multiple occasions, including for raising the fact that Rittenhouse chose to remain silent after he was charged. The Fifth Amendment protects those accused of crimes from incriminating themselves – they do not have to reveal any information to police, prosecution, or a judge.
After days of deliberations, the jury returned with “not guilty” verdicts for each charge.
“I was an innocent 17-year-old who was violently attacked and defended myself,” Rittenhouse said on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Monday. “I feel my life has been extremely defamed … I don’t think I would be able to go out and get a job and not have to deal with harassment. But I’m at a place now … where I have to have people with me because people want to kill me just because I defended myself – and they’re too ignorant to look at the facts of what happened … I see some of the threats. Some of the things people say it’s absolutely sickening.”
Kyle Rittenhouse testifies during cross examination in his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. Rittenhouse is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police brutality in Kenosha, last year. (Mark Hertzberg /Pool Photo via AP)
(Mark Hertzberg /Pool Photo via AP)
The media’s coverage of the trial has come under fire for getting facts distorted including the falsehood that Rittenhouse brought the rifle across state lines. Some outlets have corrected their reporting.
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The former president slammed the media and reaffirmed that they are the “enemy of the people.” He cited their coverage of the debunked Steele dossier as one of many examples of “fake news.”
“They are the enemy of the people and we could have a country that would be able to heal and get together, except the media foments it. They’re so corrupt. The fake news [media], but it’s really the corrupt news. It’s corrupt what they do,” he said. “I had to devote a lot of time to fake investigations.”
“People have gotten wise to it … and it’s just a shame,” he said.
Trump also condemned the attack in Waukesha, Wisconsin, by a “bad cookie.”
As of Tuesday evening, police said six victims were killed and 62 were injured in the Sunday afternoon attack when a red SUV plowed into the parade. Police charged Darrell Brooks, 39, with multiple counts of intentional homicide.
WAUKESHA, WI – NOVEMBER 22: Police clear debris left following a driver plowing into the Christmas parade on Main Street in downtown November 22, 2021 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Five people were left dead after a person driving an S.U.V. entered the parade route and proceeded to strike dozens of people. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images | Wisoncin DOJ)
“He was out on bail and he was a rough cookie,” Trump said. “This guy was crazy and a real professional criminal and a bad guy. And the good news is he hated Trump, OK? He hated Trump – based on early reporting – and he should.”
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In the days before the attack, Brooks allegedly punched a woman in the face and ran her over with his vehicle, according to police documents. The woman had tire marks on her pants, the report said. Brooks was charged in this incident and then posted $1,000 bail.
“He should not have been out. He should have never,” Trump said.
“Can you imagine? I looked at that car going in … I’ve never seen anything like it … . All because of a bad guy. And he was out on bail, very low bail. Just a terrible, terrible situation. I mean, just terrible.”
