Kyle Rittenhouse shot three men during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 25, 2020, killing two and wounding one, was acquitted of all criminal charges by a jury on November 19, 2021 after claiming self-defense, and spent the next several years as a conservative gun-rights figure before quietly withdrawing from public life in mid-2025. What happened to Kyle Rittenhouse, in short, is a criminal acquittal followed by a public career that he walked away from — with civil lawsuits from the families of the men he shot still unresolved.
The Night in Kenosha
Two days before the shootings, a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, during a domestic disturbance, setting off days of protests. Rittenhouse, then 17 and living in Antioch, Illinois, drove to Kenosha and stayed overnight at the home of his friend Dominick Black’s stepfather. The AR-15-style rifle he carried that night had been bought months earlier by Black, who was 18, at a hardware store in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, because Rittenhouse was too young to buy it himself.1FactCheck.org. Rittenhouse Testified He Drove Himself to Kenosha Without Weapon
On the evening of August 25, Rittenhouse went to downtown Kenosha armed with the Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15. He said he intended to protect a used-car dealership and provide medical assistance.2NBC Chicago. The Kyle Rittenhouse Story Explained
The first person he shot was Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, who was unarmed and carrying a plastic hospital bag. Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse through a used-car lot and threw the bag at him. Witnesses testified that Rosenbaum reached for Rittenhouse’s rifle before Rittenhouse fired four shots, killing him.3NPR. What We Know About the 3 Men Kyle Rittenhouse Shot
Rittenhouse then fled toward a police line while a group pursued him, believing him to be an active shooter. Anthony Huber, 26, caught up and struck him with a skateboard. Rittenhouse testified Huber hit him in the neck and grabbed for the rifle. He fired a single shot, killing Huber.2NBC Chicago. The Kyle Rittenhouse Story Explained
Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, a medic carrying a pistol and medical supplies, then approached. Under cross-examination at trial, Grosskreutz acknowledged his pistol was pointed at Rittenhouse at the moment he was shot. Rittenhouse fired once and struck Grosskreutz in the arm, destroying roughly 90 percent of his right bicep.3NPR. What We Know About the 3 Men Kyle Rittenhouse Shot
Black drove Rittenhouse back to Antioch that night. Around 1:30 a.m. on August 26, Rittenhouse’s mother drove him to a local police station, where he turned himself in.1FactCheck.org. Rittenhouse Testified He Drove Himself to Kenosha Without Weapon
The Charges and the Trial
Rittenhouse was charged with five felonies: first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety. He also faced a misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, plus a curfew violation that was later dropped.4NPR. Kyle Rittenhouse Acquitted on All Charges5ABC News. Jury Reaches Verdict in Kyle Rittenhouse Homicide Trial
The trial took place at the Kenosha County Courthouse. Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger led the prosecution. Mark Richards represented Rittenhouse. Judge Bruce Schroeder presided.5ABC News. Jury Reaches Verdict in Kyle Rittenhouse Homicide Trial
Prosecutors argued Rittenhouse was the aggressor and used deadly force without justification, relying heavily on video from the unrest. Reporter Richie McGinniss, who had interviewed Rittenhouse shortly before the first shooting, testified he did not see Rosenbaum carrying any weapon — only the plastic bag. The defense portrayed Rittenhouse as an aspiring EMT who was cornered and attacked, and argued that Rosenbaum could have disarmed him and used the rifle against him.6NPR. Defense Says Kyle Rittenhouse Acted in Self-Defense
Judge Schroeder drew criticism for several rulings viewed as favorable to the defense. He barred prosecutors from referring to the men Rittenhouse shot as “victims,” while allowing the defense to call them “rioters, arsonists, and protesters.” Retired federal judge Nancy Gertner, now at Harvard Law School, said Schroeder had “put his finger on the scale.”7Harvard Law School. Acquitted: Assessing the Rittenhouse Trial
Before closing arguments, Schroeder dismissed the misdemeanor weapons charge. The Wisconsin statute prohibited minors from carrying “short-barreled” rifles or shotguns, and prosecutors conceded Rittenhouse’s rifle did not meet that definition. Whatever the legislature may have intended, the judge read the statute strictly as written.8WUWM. Breaking Down Why Judge Schroeder Dismissed Kyle Rittenhouse’s Gun Charge9The Trace. Judge Dismisses Gun Charge Against Rittenhouse
On November 19, 2021, after roughly 26 hours of deliberation over close to three and a half days, the jury found Rittenhouse not guilty on all remaining counts.10PBS NewsHour. Kyle Rittenhouse Found Not Guilty of All Counts
Why the Jury Acquitted
Wisconsin’s self-defense law permits deadly force when a person reasonably believes it necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm. The test is both subjective and objective: the defendant must have sincerely believed they were in peril, and that belief must have been reasonable. Wisconsin imposes no formal duty to retreat, though a jury may weigh whether the defendant tried to move away from danger.11Courthouse News. Legal Experts See Strong Self-Defense Claim for Rittenhouse
Once self-defense is raised, the burden shifts to the state to disprove it. University of Wisconsin law professor Cecelia Klingele noted that this standard was a significant hurdle for prosecutors.12The New York Times. Rittenhouse Acquittal and Self-Defense
Prosecutors also pressed the state’s provocation doctrine, arguing that traveling to Kenosha armed made Rittenhouse the “primary cause of the deadly encounters.” Legal experts observed that under existing precedent, his reason for being there was largely irrelevant to whether he could lawfully use force once he was under attack.11Courthouse News. Legal Experts See Strong Self-Defense Claim for Rittenhouse
Civil Lawsuits Still Pending
Acquittal ended the criminal case. It did not end the civil ones.
Anthony Huber’s father, John Huber, filed a wrongful death suit in federal court in 2021 against Rittenhouse, city officials, and police officers, alleging conspiracy with law enforcement and constitutional violations. In February 2023, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman denied motions to dismiss and noted that Rittenhouse appeared to be “purposefully concealing his residence to evade the law.” The judge ruled that service on Rittenhouse’s sister was sufficient.13NBC News. Kyle Rittenhouse Wrongful Death Lawsuit Can Proceed14BBC News. Kyle Rittenhouse Civil Lawsuit Moves Forward
Gaige Grosskreutz filed a separate federal civil rights lawsuit in October 2021 against the city of Kenosha, Kenosha County, Sheriff David Beth, and other law enforcement officials, alleging police coordinated with armed militia members, supplied them with water, and failed to detain Rittenhouse after the shooting. In February 2023, Grosskreutz added Rittenhouse as a defendant, and his attorneys reported difficulty serving him, alleging he was purposefully evading them.15CNN. Gaige Grosskreutz Files Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit16PBS NewsHour. Attorneys Say Kyle Rittenhouse Is Evading Them
Dominick Black, who bought the rifle, was originally charged with two felony counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a person under 18, causing death, carrying up to 12 years in prison. In January 2022 he pleaded no contest to a reduced, noncriminal citation for “contributing to the delinquency of a minor” and paid a $2,000 fine. The felonies were dismissed in exchange for his cooperation as a prosecution witness.17WISN. Man Who Bought Gun for Kyle Rittenhouse to Pay $2,000 in Deal18ABC News. Friend Who Bought Rifle for Kyle Rittenhouse Reaches Plea Deal
What Rittenhouse Did Next
During the trial, Rittenhouse testified he was studying nursing at Arizona State University. ASU corrected that: he was a “non-degree-seeking online student” who had not gone through standard admissions and was not enrolled in the nursing school. After campus protests and an online petition with more than 12,000 signatures, ASU confirmed by November 29, 2021 that he was no longer enrolled. A spokesperson stated, “There was no action taken by the university.”19Inside Higher Ed. Kyle Rittenhouse No Longer a Student at Arizona State
Rittenhouse leaned into conservative politics and gun-rights advocacy. A week after the verdict, he met Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and Trump publicly called him “really a nice young man.”20The Guardian. Kyle Rittenhouse Trump Endorsement
In June 2024, Texas Gun Rights hired him as its outreach director, working on advocacy in Austin and Washington, D.C.21San Antonio Express-News. Texas Gun Rights Hires Kyle Rittenhouse His title later expanded to Director of Partnerships and Chief Firearms Instructor for the group’s foundation arm, doing firearms training and campus speaking on campus carry and self-defense.22Texas Gun Rights. Kyle Rittenhouse Turning Point USA sponsored his “Rittenhouse Recap” campus tour. A March 2024 appearance at the University of Memphis ended abruptly when hundreds of students protested and drowned out his remarks, and organizers were escorted off campus by state troopers.23Action News 5. Rittenhouse’s Visit to University of Memphis Cut Short
His alignment with Trump briefly cracked in August 2024. Rittenhouse posted on X that he would write in former Libertarian nominee Ron Paul because Trump had “bad advisers” and was “bad on the Second Amendment.” Backlash from MAGA supporters, many of whom had contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his criminal defense, was immediate. The same day, he reversed himself, declaring he was “100% behind Donald Trump” and calling his earlier remarks “ill-informed and unproductive.”20The Guardian. Kyle Rittenhouse Trump Endorsement
In late 2023 he published a book called Acquitted, co-authored with Mark Richards and Michael Quinn Sullivan. The 241-page memoir covers his childhood in government-subsidized housing, his ambitions of becoming a police officer or paramedic, and his account of Kenosha and the trial. Rittenhouse called it a “story of survival, resilience, and justice.” Sales were modest, with the book ranking around 10,000 on Kindle’s best-seller list shortly after release.24Spectrum News 1. Kyle Rittenhouse Book Acquitted A YouTube show he launched in October 2022, The Tactically Inappropriate Podcast, never fully built out its website and stopped posting new episodes in April 2025.25Mediaite. Kyle Rittenhouse Steps Away From Public Eye
Where He Is Now
In early 2025, Rittenhouse moved from Texas to the Florida panhandle and took a full-time job at Gulf Coast Gun & Outdoors in Milton, Florida. The store promoted his presence and sold an exclusive rifle he had helped design, called the “KR-15,” bearing his signature. Customers who bought a gun during the store’s anniversary event got a free signed copy of Acquitted.26Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Northern Florida Gun Store Boasts Kyle Rittenhouse as New Cashier
By mid-2025 he had stepped almost entirely out of public view. He left the gun shop, deleted his personal X and Instagram accounts, and stopped updating his podcast. In May 2025 he announced on his business account: “I’m going to take a step back from interacting with the public on a personal level. It’s something I’ve needed to do for a while now.” He said he would let “close friends and allies in the 2A community” run the business account. The shop’s owner confirmed in June 2025 that Rittenhouse was no longer employed there, but was “doing something he’s passionate about.”27Denver Gazette. Kyle Rittenhouse Disappears From Social Media25Mediaite. Kyle Rittenhouse Steps Away From Public Eye