Kyle Rittenhouse Says He Bought Gun With Stimulus Money

Kyle Rittenhouse is claiming that he used his coronavirus stimulus check to purchase the weapon he used to kill two Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The accused double-murderer, in a phone interview with the Washington Post that was posted on Thursday, the 17-year-old also said he acted in self-defense and does not regret using the AR-15 on the two men in the wake of Jacob Blake’s shooting by police.

“I got my $1,200 from the coronavirus Illinois unemployment because I was on furlough from YMCA and I got my first unemployment check, so I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll use this to buy it,’” Rittenhouse said during the interview.

Rittenhouse was arrested at his home in Antioch, Illinois a day after the August 25 fatal shootings of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26.

Under Illinois law, Rittenhouse wasn’t old enough to purchase the weapon legally, so he allegedly had a friend in Kenosha buy the gun and hold it for him in Wisconsin.

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Rittenhouse also confirmed that he went to protect local businesses in Kenosha. Pictures of him from that night show him carrying the gun.

“I was going into a place where people had guns, and god forbid somebody brought a gun to me and decided to shoot me … I wanted to be protected, which I ended up having to protect myself,” Rittenhouse told the news outlet.

When asked if he regrets being armed during the Kenosha protests, Rittenhouse says he didn’t.

“No, I don’t regret it,” he said. “I would have died that night if I didn’t. I feel like I had to protect myself.”

It’s been reported that Kyle Rittenhouse will not face charges in Illinois. The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office released the following statement, “There is no evidence the gun was ever physically possessed by Kyle Rittenhouse in Illinois.”

Rittenhouse has been charged with first degree homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and a misdemeanor weapons use in Wisconsin for the August 25 shooting deaths. Another person, Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, was also reportedly shot and wounded in the shooting. 

There are questions surrounding why Rittenhouse, who lived in Illinois, was even in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His lawyers claimed a business owner invited him to protect property but have not identified who made the request.