Trump defends Kyle Rittenhouse after the Kenosha shootings as DHS issues sympathetic statements

President Trump publicly defended Kyle Rittenhouse in statements beginning Aug. 25, 2020, the night Rittenhouse shot three people—killing two—at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Reports indicated Department of Homeland Security officials were directed to issue statements sympathetic to Rittenhouse framing his actions as self-defense. The administration's response foreshadowed its pattern of publicly supporting individuals charged in political violence cases before any conviction.