A video of Kyle Rittenhouse on a shooting range has gone viral online after he said he "felt like John Wick."
Rittenhouse gained notoriety in August 2020 when, at the age of 17, he shot and killed two men—Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26—as well as injured then-26-year-old Paul Prediger, then known as Gaige Grosskreutz, after rioting broke out following a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The 21-year-old said the three shootings, carried out with a semi-automatic AR-15-style firearm, were in self-defense.
Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges in November 2021, including charges of first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, and two charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety. He later said he supported the BLM movement, adding that he was at the demonstration to "protect businesses and provide medical assistance."
Now he has divided the internet after uploading a video of him shooting a firearm to X, formerly Twitter.
"I felt like John Wick but I looked like Paul Blart [laugh crying emoji]," the pro-gun activist captioned the clip. John Wick is a retired hitman played by Keanu Reeves in the action thriller film of the same name while Paul Blart is the character played by Kevin James in the movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop.
Newsweek emailed Rittenhouse's lawyer for comment on Monday.
At the time of writing, the post had been viewed 574,600 times. People are divided in the comments, with some people slamming Rittenhouse, going as far as to say he looks "murderous."
"You look like a murderous piece of garbage [rubbish bin emoji]," one person wrote, while another commented: "Paul Blart never murdered two people in cold blood, though."
A third person added: "[you] attempted to join the U.S. Marines in 2020, but was 'disqualified from serving after discussing his options with recruiters,' according to a statement ... by Marine Corps spokesperson Yvonne Carlock.' — Snopes. Booy, you should [be] bagging groceries in prison."
Others defended Rittenhouse.
"If you listen very carefully, you can hear the melody of Liberals screeching over Kyle holding a gun and enjoying himself," one person said.
"Great training Kyle, keep up the good work, we need more Patriots to do the same. Americans are proud of you! God is on your side!" a different X user wrote.
"You've proven yourself worthy long ago my man," said another.
Since his acquittal, Rittenhouse has developed into a conservative influencer and campaigner.
Rittenhouse was hit with a wave of criticism on social media in June after sharing a post in which he baselessly stated that President Joe Biden "is gay." When contacted for comment, Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz told Newsweek in an emailed statement at the time: "Happy Pride, Kyle."
He then doubled down on his "gay" comment when he used it to refer to Vice President Kamala Harris and gun control activist David Hogg. Hogg uploaded a photo of him and Harris speaking to each other on X, adding the caption: "Thank you for your work on gun safety @KamalaHarris @VP."
Rittenhouse replied to the post: "Gay."
When approached for comment by Newsweek, Rittenhouse simply replied: "That Newsweek is gay."
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