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Kyle Rittenhouse Is Neither a Hero nor a Villain, According to Some Christian Leaders

In discussing the events of Kenosha, Rittenhouse said that in retrospect, it “probably wasn’t the best idea” for him to have gone to where riots were occurring with a gun in hand, but that he “couldn’t change that.” Expressing remorse for the incident that resulted in the death of two people by his hand, he said, “I wish I never would have had to take somebody’s life.”

Rittenhouse further expressed that he is uncomfortable with people calling him a hero, but said that the “God given right to self-defense” was what was on trial during his murder case.

Much of the conversation also focused on Rittenhouse’s faith. “You gotta just pray every night. I talk to God…Only God knows what’s going to happen in the future. You just gotta live each day by each day,” said Rittenhouse. 

Later in the interview, the hosts read messages from listeners, some of whom saying that they were praying for Rittenhouse. One person said that they hoped Rittenhouse’s relationship with Christ would “flourish.” 

Schaffer then asked Rittenhouse if it was hard to “keep faith” through the course of his trial. 

“That’s the only thing you can do through this is pray. And that’s what I do. I wear my cross everyday. Just gotta pray and…know God is on your side,” Rittenhouse said.

Schaffer said that Rittenhouse is “a good example of a good Christian man,” before the conversation digressed back into sexual humor.

While many have seen Rittenhouse’s acquittal as a miscarriage of justice, not everybody agrees. However, that doesn’t mean that they support or celebrate Rittenhouse’s actions. In a recent column, Christian journalist and former lawyer David French argued that while Rittenhouse’s acquittal fit the legal precedent and facts of the case, Christians should be very careful about turning Rittenhouse into a folk hero. 

“It is one thing to argue that the law is on Rittenhouse’s side—and there is abundant evidence supporting his defense—but it is quite another to hail him as a model for civic resistance,” French wrote. 

While French is well known for being a defender of the Second Amendment, he argued that none of the media pundits hailing Rittenhouse as a hero would ever “hand a rifle to their own children and tell them to walk into a riot. They would never do it themselves.”

French worries that seeing Rittenhouse as a symbol of heroism and patriotism, rather than as an immature teenager who was not legally guilty but still morally wrong, may have a corrosive effect on American society, writing, “When you turn a foolish young man into a hero, you’ll see more foolish young men try to emulate his example.”