Donald Trump said on Friday that he was very happy to see Kyle Rittenhouse acquitted of all charges.
A jury on Friday acquitted Rittenhouse of all charges, finding him not guilty of fatally shooting two men and injuring a third during a protest in 2020.
In August last year, Rittenhouse crossed state lines to attend a protest in Kenosha over the police shooting of a 29-year-old black man. Police said that Rittenhouse opened fire on protesters and shot at people in close range, killing two and injuring one. Rittenhouse has become a symbol for gun rights advocates.
The not-guilty verdict was called "great" by Trump.
"I think it was a great decision," Trump said. I was happy to see it. Most people were happy to see it.
In an interview with Laura Ingraham, Trump said that he helped save Kenosha when he was president, and that he sent in a lot of people to deal with the protests.
"You had a governor who didn't want to call in anyone," Trump said. He wanted to let it burn.
"We saved it very early," Trump said. It was a really bad couple of nights. The place didn't burn down to the ground because we sent in a lot of good people. This is supposed to be handled by governors or mayors.
Just days after the Rittenhouse shooting, Trump made similar statements. The National Guard was deployed to Wisconsin in the wake of the shooting.
The AP fact-checked and found that it was Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers who had activated the National Guard. The National Guard from Arizona, Michigan, and Alabama came into Wisconsin at the direction of Evers, the governor said.
