In a series of confrontations, Rittenhouse fatally shot two men who had tried to grab his gun, and non-fatally injured another who had pointed a handgun at him.

Following his acquittal, he attended several events hosted by conservative organizations and individuals, including a meeting with former president Donald Trump, interviews with political commentator Tucker Carlson, and guest appearances at several Turning Point USA productions.

Images of Rittenhouse have been used for political purposes by both right-wing and left-wing actors, becoming an internet meme and appearing on commercial products.

Since his trial, Rittenhouse has operated a gun rights YouTube channel and started two projects, including another video game and raising money for unspecified defamation lawsuits against media companies.

[5] He got a part-time job as a lifeguard at the YMCA in Lindenhurst, but was furloughed in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began, leading to a shutdown of many public facilities.

[6][7] In late August 2020, 17-year-old Rittenhouse traveled from Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to help protect local businesses, after there were protests following the shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer.

[8][9] Photographic evidence reveals that prior to unrest unfolding, Rittenhouse and others had participated in cleaning graffiti from a high school close to the Kenosha County Courthouse.

Defense lawyers argued that he had acted in self-defense,[21] stating that he had used force necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself.

In August 2021, the family of one of the men who was fatally shot filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Wisconsin against the police and county sheriff's departments in Kenosha, and later added Rittenhouse as a named defendant in January 2022.

[29][30][31][32] In February 2023, the surviving man, Gaige Grosskreutz, also added Rittenhouse as a named defendant to a lawsuit filed in federal court in October 2021.

[43] Carlson introduced Rittenhouse as "bright, decent, sincere, dutiful, and hardworking... exactly the kind of person you would want many more of in your country.

[53] Held on the third day of the conference on December 20, the panel consisted of Rittenhouse, Charlie Kirk, Jack Posobiec, Elijah Schaffer, and Drew Hernandez.

[53] Rittenhouse also appeared onstage at a Turning Point Young Women's Leadership Summit in 2022, introduced as "the kind of man you should want to be attracted to" who would "protect [his] family" and "stand strong in the face of opposition from culture and evil".

"[61] Charles Homans, writing for The New York Times, reported that Rittenhouse was adopted as an informal mascot of the Proud Boys and was photographed surrounded by members of the group after he was released on bond.

[63] In a study of his image being used as a meme on Twitter, the Global Network on Extremism and Technology found thousands of instances of Rittenhouse's face and commentary on his actions shared through a variety of different hashtags.

[68][69] In 2020, YouTube was criticized for a lack of adequate content moderation – arbitrarily allowing videos depicting Rittenhouse which glorified violence and monetized the killings through links to merchandise – until it was pointed out by a BBC journalist.

Attorney Andrew M. Stroth, who previously worked as a talent agent, said Rittenhouse could "easily" get a book contract over $1 million.

[73] Richards was Rittenhouse's lead defense lawyer,[74] and Sullivan was the CEO of former conservative advocacy group Empower Texans.

Described as a far-right extremist group owned by William Hahne, the organization created the game that features Rittenhouse shooting his way through crowds of zombies with the choice of 18 different weapons.

[77][78] The video game, which features a cartoon Rittenhouse holding a bright orange gun with the aim of shooting turkeys that represent the media, has no stated release date.

[82] In response to Gaetz, Gosar, and Cawthorn offering the internships, Missouri House representative Cori Bush called for their expulsion, tweeting "Not only do these members fuel violence.

In November 2021, U.S. House representative from Georgia Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced the Kyle H. Rittenhouse Congressional Gold Medal Act (H.R.6070) during the 117th United States Congress.

[85] Taylor Greene said, "Kyle Rittenhouse deserves to be remembered as a hero who defended his community, protected businesses, and acted lawfully in the face of lawlessness.

[89] The meeting was held at the Conservative Partnership Institute in Washington D.C. Caucus members who were present included Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Andrew Clyde (R-GA) and Byron Donalds (R-FL).

"[89] In January 2023, a Texas brewery cancelled an anti-censorship rally it was to host featuring Rittenhouse, citing concerns by local patrons and a conflict with its own values.

[91] In October 2024, after it became known that Rittenhouse planned to appear later that month at a charity music festival in Orlando, several bands pulled out of the event, including Evergreen Terrace, who referred to him as a "murderer".

Organizers of the Shell Shock II festival, which supports first responders dealing with injuries such as PTSD, upheld Rittenhouse's participation, saying in part that "everyone is welcome".

"[99][100]Rittenhouse's announcement drew a comparison by The Tennessee Star to Nicholas Sandmann, a Covington Catholic High School student from Kentucky who became known for the January 2019 Lincoln Memorial confrontation.

[101] In 2022, a satirical story turned into a rumor circulating on social media saying that Rittenhouse had filed and settled a lawsuit against Whoopi Goldberg and The View.

[104][105] His first video on the channel showed him firing a handgun and an automatic rifle and included the YouTube gun advocate Brandon Herrera as a guest.