Kyle Rittenhouse revealed Thursday to Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson the National Rifle Association (NRA) refused to “touch” his previous case regarding murder charges, claiming they didn’t want to “help” with either the civil or criminal lawsuits.
Rittenhouse appeared on “The Tucker Carlson Encounter” to discuss his previous high profile trial. Rittenhouse was acquitted of murder charges that stemmed from an August 2020 incident after shooting three rioters in self-defense. Only 17-years-old at the time, Carlson asked Rittenhouse if he had gotten any support from the NRA, noting how the “well-funded” organization was “designed” to handle cases like his.
Rittenhouse revealed not only did the NRA not “touch” his criminal lawsuits, but they also never helped with his civil lawsuit either. The 20-year-old continued to state one of the main organizations that did help him out was the National Association for Gun Rights, claiming they had “really helped” with his legal bills. (RELATED: Piers Morgan Asks Kyle Rittenhouse Point-Blank How It ‘Feels’ To ‘Kill Two Human Beings’)
“So it turns out we actually have a fairly well-funded organization in this country designed to support you, and that principle, which is foundational, self-defense. You don’t have rights without that. It’s called the National Rifle Association. And I just want to ask you point blank, how much help did you receive from the NRA?” Carlson questioned.
“I didn’t receive any help from the NRA. I know people who work with the NRA and they don’t want to touch my case. They don’t want to help with the civil lawsuits. They didn’t want to help with the criminal lawsuits,” Rittenhouse stated.
Ep. 52 Kyle Rittenhouse exercised the most basic right of all: the right to self-defense. And he’s still being punished for it. pic.twitter.com/UX4SkzXEVR
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) December 14, 2023
“How could that be? How could the NRA, which has taken money from its members for 100 years exactly for a moment like this — how could they not help you?” Carlson asked.
“I have no idea. One of the organizations that did step up and help me is the National Association for Gun Rights,” Rittenhouse stated. “They really helped me with my legal bills and they helped pay some of the bills that I was facing because my family wasn’t able to work. They really stepped up to the plate and they’re continuing to help me to this day with some of my legal fees that I’m facing with a little bit of that.”
Carlson continued to ask Rittenhouse about his college plans he once had, questioning if it was “painful” to see leaders of Black Lives Matter (BLM) become millionaires. The 20-year-old responded he has been working a “nine to five job” to support himself, noting how it was “weird to see” people get “rewarded for violence.” (RELATED: ‘The Young Turks’ Star Ana Kasparian Admits She Would’ve Done The Same Thing As Kyle Rittenhouse)
“I’m glad someone’s helping you. One of the saddest parts of your story … is your desire was to go to college. You know, I doubt everyone in your family went to college – You want to go to college. You’re excited about going to college and you … couldn’t go to college because of this,” Carlson stated.
“Absolutely, and hopefully in the future I’m able to go to college, but right now I’m just working a nine to five job trying to pay rent and trying to live out a normal life as possible,” Rittenhouse stated. “But I hope 5-10 years down the road, maybe even less than that, I’m able to go and get an education – I’m able to go to school and catch up.
“Is it weird to see, say, the leaders of BLM who are at least in some sense responsible for these riots get rich? And get all this money from Corporate America and have nine houses and become literally millionaires for not doing anything other than destroying things? Is that a little painful for you to see that?” Carlson questioned.
“It is a little weird to see that. It’s essentially getting rewarded for violence, and I don’t know how that can be okay. And I don’t know how people can donate to causes that they know are going towards buying bricks and billy clubs to bash windows and throw at police officers. That’s where a lot of the money goes — they go towards inciting violence,” Rittenhouse stated.
Since Rittenhouse’s acquittal, the sole surviving rioter who had been shot, Gage Grosskreutz, has sued him and state officials for “emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, and other pain and suffering on all claims,” Fox News reported. Grosskreutz accused the Kenosha Police Department and County Sheriff’s Department for their alleged refusal to see Rittenhouse as a safety threat.
However, Rittenhouse claimed Grosskreutz’s lawsuit was only filed to “drown anyone who legally and justifiably defends there [sic] lives from attackers in a mountain of legal debt.”