Kyle Rittenhouse gets into spat with Republican

Acquitted gun killer Kyle Rittenhouse has lashed out at a Texas state representative over his stance on AR-15 legislation.

Republican Justin Holland wants to raise the age when people can purchase the semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21 in the state. Rittenhouse became known the world over when he fatally shot two people and injured a third in 2020 at the age of 17, after traveling from his home in Illinois armed with an AR-15-style rifle to Kenosha, Wisconsin during a racial justice protest.

Rittenhouse was later acquitted of all charges against him, including first-degree intentional homicide, after arguing that he acted in self-defense. After being found not guilty in 2021, he became a figurehead for right-wing causes and a gun rights activist, frequently appearing on conservative media and at major Republican events.

But he is unhappy that state legislator Holland wants to raise the minimum age for buying an AR-15 in Texas.

You Might Like

Newsweek contacted Holland’s office by email for comment.

Rittenhouse shared to X, formerly Twitter, a video of Holland speaking about his reasoning for wanting to make the legislative changes.

“This session we had a Bill about raising the age to buy an AR-15 from 18 to 21, the state in which you cannot drink alcohol, you cannot buy a pack of cigarettes and you cannot buy a handgun until you’re 21 years old,” Holland explained at a campaign event for his reelection.

He went on to defend his support for gun ownership saying, “I have a perfect voting record with the NRA” (National Rifle Association) and listed other legislation he wrote and voted for, including not needing a licence to carry a handgun in Texas anymore.

“I am not a gun grabber, I am not trying to go after your second amendment rights. I believe that there is a conversation to be had in the state of Texas, in this country, because our priorities are our communities and our priorities are our children in schools and I do believe that if you can’t buy a handgun until you’re 21, you can’t smoke cigarettes until you’re 21 and you can’t drink beer until you’re 21 [then] we can have a conversation about whether an 18-year-old should be able to go out and buy an AR-15,” Holland told the crowd to a mix of cheers and boos.

But Rittenhouse did not support Holland’s view and let him know it.

“Rep. Holland (you blocked me so I can’t tag you), your first problem with this statement is ‘a perfect vote record with the nra’. The second problem is that if you can go off to war or enlist in the military you should be allowed to own a AR-15 or any other gun,” he wrote on X.

In another post, he slammed Holland for blocking him on the platform.

“This is what Holland does when you push back against him and call him out!” he wrote.

Despite his support for gun ownership and the NRA, Rittenhouse recently slammed the association for not supporting him more after his arrest and subsequent criminal trial.

“I didn’t receive any help from the NRA,” Rittenhouse told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on his new show. “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 fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and injured a third, Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, in 2020 during the protest sparked by the death of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man shot by a white police officer.

Now the estate of Rosenbaum is suing Rittenhouse, accusing him of “intentionally and unjustifiably” causing his death. Huber’s father is also suing him for wrongful death, while Grosskreutz is suing him for emotional and physical damage. Rittenhouse is denying wrongdoing in all three civil cases.

In 2023, Rittenhouse released a book about the events in Kenosha entitled, Acquitted.

You Might Like