On Wednesday, BuzzFeed News reported that the suspect in the Kenosha shooting attended a Trump rally in Des Moines, Iowa in January — and sat in the front row.
"Kyle Howard Rittenhouse’s social media presence is filled with him posing with weapons, posting 'Blue Lives Matter,' and supporting Trump for president," reported Ellie Hall, Amber Jamieson, and Tasneem Nashrulla. "Footage from the Des Moines, Iowa, rally on Jan. 30 shows Rittenhouse feet away from the president, in the front row, to the left of the podium. He posted a TikTok video from the event."
"Seven months later, Rittenhouse went with his rifle to the third night of Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha," continued the report. "Rittenhouse attended as an armed vigilante, supposedly assisting police and protecting property in an unofficial capacity but instead he prowled the protest with a gun. Videos captured him fraternizing with law enforcement and attempting to get their attention." He is accused of opening fire, killing two protesters and injuring a third.
Rittenhouse, an Illinois resident, was arrested on Wednesday after allegedly fleeing back over the state line.
Trump has been sharply critical of the Black Lives Matter protests, recently threatening to send the military to states with protests to keep order.