Kyle Rittenhouse tells Tucker Carlson he hopes for a peaceful and normal life
'Tucker Carlson Tonight' host speaks to Kyle Rittenhouse about his plans for the future.
Kyle Rittenhouse discussed his future in an exclusive first interview since his acquittal on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Monday.
Rittenhouse told Tucker he is a student at Arizona State University and has his sights on nursing; another career he is considering is law.
"I want to be a nurse, so I've been doing the prerequisites for that," he said. "I don't know for sure yet … I may change it. I've been looking into the law. I may want to become a lawyer. I haven't completely decided yet, but I've been looking."
Kyle Rittenhouse reacts to the verdict during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S., November 19, 2021. ( Sean Krajacic/Pool via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
Rittenhouse says he hopes his life will return back to normal, and that he plans to keep a low profile.
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"I was an innocent 17-year-old who was violently attacked and defended myself," he said. "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."
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.
Gaige Grosskreutz, Anthony Huber, Joseph Rosenbaum. Mark Hertzberg/Pool Photo via AP, Gofundme, Facebook (Mark Hertzberg/Pool Photo via AP, Gofundme, Facebook)
After days of deliberations, the jury returned with "not guilty" verdicts for every charge.
Rittenhouse said throughout his testimony at the Kenosha County Courthouse that he was acting in self-defense. During closing arguments, the defense went on the attack on the prosecutor's methods and asserted that then 17-year-old Rittenhouse (he is now 18) acted within the context of the lawlessness and violence that followed the police shooting of Blake.
Left: A man on a bike rides past a city truck on fire outside the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S., during protests following the police shooting of Black man Jacob Blake August 23, 2020. Picture taken August 23, 2020. Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY via REUTERS MANDATORY CREDIT Right: (Left: Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY via REUTERS MANDATORY CREDIT)
"This is this is something that I wish never would have happened, but it did, and we can't change that," Rittenhouse said.
Tucker asked Rittenhouse if he feels he has been "watched over."
"I feel like God has been on my side through the beginning," Rittenhouse responded.
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