Kyle Rittenhouse says he will not vote for Donald Trump on Nov. 5.
The Illinois gunman, who was acquitted on all charges after fatally shooting two people and wounding a third during a George Floyd protest in Kenosha, Wis. in August 2020, plans to write in a candidate for president of the United States.
On his X account, he shared a video revealing his plans to cast a ballot for the former Texas congressman Ron Paul instead of the Republican candidate.
“A lot of people are upset that I said that I’m going to be writing in Ron Paul for president of the United States, and that is true, I will be writing in Ron Paul,” the 21-year-old confirmed in the post captioned “You must stand by your principles.”
“Unfortunately, Donald Trump had bad advisors, making him bad on the Second Amendment, and that is my issue,” he added.
Rittenhouse, who referred to himself as Outreach Director for Texas gun rights, added: “If you cannot be completely uncompromisable on the Second Amendment, I will not vote for you, and I will write somebody else in. We need champions for the Second Amendment or our rights would be eaten away and eroded each day. I support my decision and I have no takebacks.”
He later posted a photo with Paul, writing in the caption: “There aren’t many people in this world that I get excited to meet but meeting @RonPaul was an incredible pleasure.”
There aren’t many people in this world that I get excited to meet but meeting @RonPaul was an incredible pleasure. pic.twitter.com/g41YuP2ThE
— Kyle Rittenhouse (@ThisIsKyleR) August 2, 2024
The 88-year-old retired congressman is not running for any political office.
Following Rittenhouse’s 2021 acquittal, Trump met with the then-teenager at Mar-A-Lago, who later described him as “a fan” during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“He should never have been put through that,” the former president said in defense of Rittenhouse. “That was prosecutorial misconduct.”
