Kyle Rittenhouse compared himself during an interview for The Caitlin Sinclair Show to Jonathan Ross, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis earlier in January.
Why It Matters
The nation continues to grapple with the shooting of Good, which has sparked protests in Minneapolis and elsewhere over the tactics used by ICE agents amid President Donald Trump’s heightened immigration enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said that Good sought to weaponize her vehicle against Ross and that he feared for his life. But critics have disputed that characterization, arguing that video footage of the shooting shows she was attempting to drive away at the time and that the shooting was unnecessary.
What to Know
Rittenhouse, in a new interview on The Caitlin Sinclair Show, said he has related to what Ross has gone through in terms of being “doxed.”
“Agent Ross, his identity has already been put out there publicly. He’s been doxed. His family has been forced to go into hiding. Very similar to what happened to me—immediately being doxed. My home address being put out there, calls for death threats, bounties put out on him,” he said. “Similar to me, I’ve had bounties put out against me.”
Rittenhouse gained notoriety in August 2020 when he fatally shot two men during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, for Black Lives Matter. Rittenhouse, who was 17 years old at the time of the shooting, said it was in self-defense and was acquitted of all charges in November 2021.
Since then, he has frequently commented on politics from a conservative perspective and has made appearances on college campuses on invitation from their respective Turning Point USA chapters.
Rittenhouse said Ross “defended himself” against Good, who he said was there to “block and impede with” ICE agents from completing duties.
He said the officer was “doing his job well.” He said he believes he was right to believe his life was in danger at the time, describing the car as a “two-ton missile coming at you with the ability to cause great bodily injury as death.”
“Agent Ross did what he had to do to stay alive, and he’s being villainized by the left for defending himself because the left is trying to push a narrative that we are the side of violence,” he said.
When asked what Rittenhouse would have done had he been in the ICE agent shoes, he said he would have shot Good if it meant saving his own life.
“If somebody is coming at me with a moving vehicle, I’m going to do what I need to do to stay alive,” Rittenhouse said. “That is a two tone weapon coming at you. That is something that can cause great bodily injury or death, just as anybody with half a brain cell would do.”
He also compared his treatment by the media to that of Ross.
“I saw firsthand how they treated me. And now I’m seeing snippet reports of how they’re treating Agent Ross,” he said.
Rittenhouse called out Newsweek specifically, saying the outlet tries to “push narratives that aren’t really true.” He pushed back on an article about him posing with guns at his wedding, saying he’s a “Second Amendment advocate.”
“They tried to make it look like a bad thing that I have firearms, and that me and my wife were holding firearms in our wedding,” Rittenhouse said.
What People Are Saying
Representative Angie Craig, a Minnesota Democrat, previously told Newsweek in an interview: “We’re also heartbroken by the fact that our neighbors, black and brown neighbors, to be absolutely specific, are being profiled and targeted by the federal government and federal agents.”
Vice President JD Vance on X after Good’s killing: “I want every ICE officer to know that their president, vice president, and the entire administration stands behind them. To the radicals assaulting them, doxxing them, and threatening them: congratulations, we’re going to work even harder to enforce the law.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, wrote in a statement after Good’s killing: “Renee Nicole Good was a loving mother, partner, daughter, and neighbor whose life was defined by compassion, creativity, and care for others. While we cannot bring back Renee Nicole Good, we can honor her life by standing together for decency, democracy, compassion, and our shared values.”
What Happens Next
Tensions remain high in Minnesota following the shooting of Good. Trump has floated the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act to quell protests, though he has not formally done so.
Caitlin Sinclair’s podcast, The Caitlin Sinclair Show, in partnership with Newsweek, comes out each week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
