Billionaire says ‘civic hero’ Rittenhouse should be acquitted

Rittenhouse is accused of killing two demonstrators during a night of unrest in Kenosha in 2020

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman has called Kyle Rittenhouse a “civil hero” and claimed that the jury will find the 18-year-old innocent.

Mr Rittenhouse is accused of shooting three demonstrators — two of whom died — during a night of unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after police shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, seven times in the back in August 2020.

Mr Rittenhouse is facing six criminal charges including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, reckless endangering and illegal possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18. He has pleaded not guilty to the homicide and attempted homicide charges against him.

Mr Ackman, who runs the hedge fund firm Pershing Square Capital Management, took to Twitter on Thursday and said: “Last night, Neri [Oxman, his wife] and I watched several hours of [Kyle Rittenhouse’s] direct testimony and cross-examination. We came away believing that Kyle is telling the truth and that he acted in self-defence.”

“We found him to be a civic-minded patriot with a history of helping his community as an EMT and fireman in training, in his removing hate graffiti earlier that day from a local school, and ultimately in volunteering to protect a business during the night of August 25th in Kenosha,” he added.

He added: “Our first-hand impressions of Kyle were materially different from those we had previously formed based on media reports and opinion pieces that we had consumed. I have always been frustrated to read an inaccurate press report about a subject I know well, yet somehow I continue to believe other articles in the same newspaper about subjects I know less well.”

The billionaire, in subsequent tweets, said: “Media and political bias are dividing our country and destroying lives. While we have not heard the entire trial, based on our assessment of Kyle on the stand, we believe that he will be found innocent.”

Mr Ackman said: “Kyle Rittenhouse’s life is at risk. Justice demands a fair trial. Society would benefit greatly if politics did not enter the courtroom and convict innocent people.”

Mr Rittenhouse is charged in the killing of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz, 27.

His attorney has said that the then-17-year-old acted in self defence and that he was a “scared kid who protected himself from a mob,” while the prosecution has argued that he was a vigilante who travelled to Kenosha seeking conflict.