The Daily Caller’s Richie McGinniss appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight and described hearing shots fired in Kenosha before Kyle Rittenhouse used his weapon to defend himself.
McGinniss was just feet away when the shooting occurred.
McGinniss told Carlson that he was just ten to twelve feet behind the rioters as they ran into the parking lot to charge Rittenhouse.
“What I saw was [Joseph] Rosenbaum pursuing Rittenhouse, and Rittenhouse turned around,” McGinniss began. “Right before he turned around, I’m not sure if this is the reason he turned around, but there was a gun shot. That’s actually visible on video.”
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The reporter noted that it is not clear if that gunshot was fired into the air or towards Rittenhouse, but the teenage boy did turn around immediately after that.
“At that point he went from running away to aiming his weapon at Rosenbaum and I was actually directly behind Rosenbaum.”
Rosembaum was one of the men shot and killed by Rittenhouse.
“I took one or two steps to my right, right as Rosenbaum was lunging for the barrel of the rifle,” McGinniss explained.
The reporter recounted that Rittenhouse actually moved the barrel of the rifle to dodge Rosembaum’s attempt to grab it. At this point, the attacker began to fall and Rittenhouse fired four shots.
McGinniss said that at this point he attempted to provide whatever aid he could to Rosembaum, because he had just been shot. He said that he believed Rittenhouse had ran away, but that he had came back and pulled out his phone to call 9-1-1.
As the Gateway Pundit reported earlier on Friday, Rittenhouse was in Kenosha working as a lifeguard at the community pool prior to going to help clean vandalism off the local high school.
This simple fact destroys the narrative being peddled by the mainstream media that he had “crossed state lines” to harm the rioters.
In a statement by Rittenhouse’s legal team at Pierce Bainbridge, provided to the Gateway Pundit, “after Kyle finished his work that day as a community lifeguard in Kenosha, he wanted to help clean up some of the damage, so he and a friend went to the local public high school to remove graffiti by rioters.”
Additionally, the weapon Rittenhouse was using to protect himself and others never crossed state lines.
“Later in the day, they received information about a call for help from a local business owner, whose downtown Kenosha auto dealership was largely destroyed by mob violence,” the statement continues. “Business owner needed help to protect what he had left of his life’s work, including two nearby mechanic’s shops. Kyle and a friend armed themselves with rifles due to the deadly violence gripping Kenosha and many other American cities, and headed to the business premises. The weapons were in Wisconsin and never crossed state lines.”
When Rittenhouse arrived at the mechanics shop, he and others stood guard to prevent further destruction. Later that night, long after the 8 p.m. curfew had passed, the police began to disperse a group of rioters. His lawyer, John M. Pierce, explains that while dispersing the mob, they maneuvered a mass of individuals down the street towards the auto shops. Rittenhouse and the others were threatened and taunted, but he did not react. “His intent was not to incite violence, but simply to deter property damage and use his training to provide first aid to injured community members,” Pierce says.
After the situation seemed to be diffused, Rittenhouse became increasingly concerned about people who were injured at the gas station, so he went in that direction with his first aid kit. He helped those he could find who were injured, either by administering aid or directing them which way to go for help beyond what he could offer.
The statement says that by the final time that Rittenhouse returned to the gas station and “confirmed there were no more injured individuals who needed assistance, police had advanced their formation and blocked what would have been his path back to the mechanic’s shop. Kyle then complied with the police instructions not to go back there. Kyle returned to the gas station until he learned of a need to help protect the second mechanic’s shop further down the street where property destruction was imminent with no police were nearby.”
“As Kyle proceeded towards the second mechanic’s shop, he was accosted by multiple rioters who recognized that he had been attempting to protect a business the mob wanted to destroy. This outraged the rioters and created a mob now determined to hurt Kyle. They began chasing him down. Kyle attempted to get away, but he could not do so quickly enough. Upon the sound of a gunshot behind him, Kyle turned and was immediately faced with an attacker lunging towards him and reaching for his rifle. He reacted instantaneously and justifiably with his weapon to protect himself, firing and striking the attacker,” Pierce explains.
Additionally, Rittenhouse stopped to ensure care for his attacker, hardly sounds like someone who had went to the riot with intent to kill.
“Kyle stopped to ensure care for the wounded attacker but faced a growing mob gesturing towards him. He realized he needed to flee for his safety and his survival. Another attacker struck Kyle from behind as he fled down the street. Kyle turned as the mob pressed in on him and he fell to the ground,” his legal team says. “One attacker kicked Kyle on the ground while he was on the ground. Yet another bashed him over the head with a skateboard. Several rioters tried to disarm Kyle. In fear for his life and concerned the crowd would either continue to shoot at him or even use his own weapon against him, Kyle had no choice but to fire multiple rounds towards his immediate attackers, striking two, including one armed attacker. The rest of the mob began to disperse upon hearing the additional gunshots.”
Rittenhouse then attempted to turn himself in, but was told to keep moving. He went and turned himself in to his local police that evening.
“Kyle got up and continued down the street in the direction of police with his hands in the air. He attempted to contact multiple police officers, but they were more concerned with the wounded attackers. The police did not take Kyle into custody at that time, but instead they indicated he should keep moving,” the statement says. “He fully cooperated, both then and later that night when he turned himself in to the police in his hometown, Antioch, Illinois.”
