Kyle Rittenhouse—who is known for killing two men during Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020 when he was 17—is going viral for questioning why the names of two suspects in the deadly shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs parade have not been released by authorities.
Rittenhouse was ultimately acquitted, a jury finding he acted in self-defense.
“I am trying to comprehend why the government was quick to reveal my name after I defended myself, but they still haven’t released the names of the Kansas City shooters,” Rittenhouse wrote on X on Tuesday.
The names of the two suspects—Lyndell Mays and Dominic Miller—have been released; the pair have been charged with murder after Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a 43-year-old mother of two, was killed at the parade last week. Prosecutors have indicated it was Miller’s gun that killed Lopez-Galvan. Twenty-two other people were injured in the shooting.
However, two other juvenile suspects who were charged in connection to the shooting separately remain unnamed and detained at the Juvenile Detention Center.
Rittenhouse’s post went viral, with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) responding: “GREAT QUESTION!”
“Because you stood up for yourself when you were supposed to lay down and take it,” replied another user.
Some right-wingers have posited the lack of the release of the teenage suspects’ names is because of their race.
“Because he’s white and they black. That simple,” said one user on X.
“Gee, it’s a real mystery,” replied one conservative along with an image of one suspect.
But many replies were not sympathetic to Rittenhouse and rejected the race-based theory being teased.
“Names of juveniles can’t be released unless tried as an adult,” wrote one person. “Wisconsin, Georgia and Texas all require 17-year-old juveniles to be tried as adults. Maybe you should not have gone to Wisconsin.”
Others blamed Rittenhouse for his name becoming publicly circulated.
“His name became widely circulated because of HIS OWN interview he did that day with right-wing Daily Caller,” wrote one person.
And many responses mocked Rittenhouse’s post.
“Poor baby Kyle, always the victim never responsible for any of his actions!!!” said one user.
“I think it’s so cool of Kyle Rittenhouse to just openly [admit] that he can’t tell the difference between himself and other mass shooters,” wrote one X user in a post that has been viewed 2.5 million times.
One user replied in defense of Rittenhouse: “Are we reading the same thing? Because it implies he understands the difference, but is asking why the government and media can’t seem to tell the difference.”
According to the Associated Press, additional charges are expected against the two teenage suspects as the investigation continues.
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