Left: Rep. Lauren Boebert; Right: Kyle Rittenhouse
Left: J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo; Right: Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool
- Rep. Lauren Boebert said Kyle Rittenhouse has “bigger intentions” than to pursue a congressional internship.
- Her remarks come as several Republican lawmakers in addition to herself offered Rittenhouse an internship.
- Rittenhouse was fully acquitted of fatally shooting two men and injuring a third during civil unrest in the aftermath of the Jacob Blake shooting.
Rep. Lauren Boebert said Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old who was fully acquitted for fatally shooting two men and injuring a third, has “bigger intentions” than becoming an intern for a congressional lawmaker.
Rittenhouse was charged with fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and injuring Gaige Grosskreutz on the evening of August 25, 2020, amid civil unrest following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. He was also charged with recklessly endangering two other men.
Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty to all charges and took the witness stand in his own defense, testifying that he shot the men because they attacked him first.
For months during his contentious trial, a slew of right-wing lawmakers and other conservatives painted Rittenhouse as a hero. After he was found not guilty, several Republican members of Congress— including Boebert and others like Reps. Matt Gaetz, Madison Cawthorn, and Paul Gosar — have offered Rittenhouse internships in their offices.
Speaking on right-wing commentator Sebastian Gorka’s “America First” podcast, Boebert suggested that Rittenhouse has far bigger plans than just a congressional internship.
“You know, he’s gonna come out and visit some of us, but I think he has bigger intentions than being an intern in Congress,” Boebert told Gorka.
—PatriotTakes ?? (@patriottakes) December 26, 2021
Rittenhouse has previously stated he has no interest in politics and intends to turn down any internship offers.
“I do not plan on accepting any internships,” he said in on a NewsNation interview. “I don’t want to get involved in politics at all. I know nothing about it, and thank everybody for their support. But I’m good, thank you.”
Instead, he said, he plans to take classes at Arizona State University and study nursing.
Despite Rittenhouse’s lack of interest in political involvement, the 18-year-old has become acquainted with and spent time with Republican lawmakers, including Boebert, one-on-one.
In the interview with Gorka, Boebert said Rittenhouse had praised her for suggesting she participate in an arm wrestling match with Rep. Cawthorn to determine which one of them gets Rittenhouse as an intern.
Former President Donald Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in November that Rittenhouse had asked to visit him “because he was a fan.”
“Kyle, I got to know him a little bit,” Trump said. “He called. He wanted to know if he could come over and say hello because he was a fan.”
Last month, CNN reported that Trump hosted Rittenhouse and his mom at his Palm Beach, Florida, resort.
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