Crowdfunding sites GoFundMe and Fundly have removed all accounts associated with Kyle Rittenhouse, a teenager who was charged with murder after he fired his gun in self-defense during a protest in Kenosha, WI.
The fundraising accounts raised more than $51,000 before they were taken down. All donations were refunded. GoFundMe said the accounts were removed for violating its terms of service, but offered no further details.
Rittenhouse was arrested Wednesday following a shooting that claimed two lives the previous night. The incident occurred during a protest spurred by the shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who was shot in the back by police and left paralyzed on August 23rd.
Rittenhouse, a longtime supporter of police who used his 16th birthday to raise money for the non-profit organization “Humanize the Badge,” was among several armed civilians who volunteered to protect a local car dealership Tuesday night. Video footage shows the militia speaking with police, with at least one officer saying he “appreciated” their efforts.
Video footage from later that night (after Rittenhouse left the dealership) shows the teen being chased by protestors. A shot is fired and Rittenhouse responds by firing back before tripping and falling to the ground. More shots are fired, and Rittenhouse returns fire in self-defense as protestors bear down on him.
Two people were killed and a third injured. When police arrived, Rittenhouse immediately dropped his AR-15 style rifle and raised his hands in the air.
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Rittenhouse, 17, is being charged as an adult with counts of first-degree intentional homicide, reckless homicide, attempted intentional homicide, and two counts of recklessly endangering safety. The liberal media has described him as a “mass shooter.”
Rittenhouse is scheduled to appear in court this Friday, where he will have help from L. Lin Wood – the lawyer who helped Nick Sandmann settle a defamation lawsuit against CNN. Like Sandmann, Rittenhouse seems to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. And his actions have been twisted by the liberal media.
Rittenhouse will also receive help from Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo, which has collected more than $192,000 to help with the legal fees. “GiveSendGo is veteran owned platform that hasn’t fallen into the censorship/cancel culture that we see today,” tweeted the site.
“[Kyle] defended himself from a brutal attack by multiple members of the far-leftist group ANTIFA – the experience was undoubtedly a brutal one, as he was forced to take two lives to defend his own,” reads the fundraising page. “Now, Kyle is being unfairly charged with murder 1, by a DA who seems determined only to capitalize on the political angle of the situation. The situation was clearly self-defense, and Kyle and his family will undoubtedly need money to pay for the legal fees.”
Author’s Note: This is outrageous. A suspect who has yet to go to trial is denied the ability to take advantage of a publicly offered service for political reasons. This liberal censorship at its finest.
Sources:
GoFundMe removes campaigns for Kyle Rittenhouse, teen accused in deadly Kenosha shooting
Christian fund raising site had earned nearly $200,000 for alleged Kenosha shooter, Kyle Rittenhouse
Praise for alleged Kenosha shooter proliferates on Facebook despite supposed ban