I.n Phoenix, Arizona, you can still celebrate at mass events – and they wanted to celebrate, the 6,700 people who had come to the “AmericaFest” of the youth organization “Turning Point USA”. For four days, they heard speeches from prominent politicians and activists, most of whom were supporters of former President Donald Trump. One was announced as a special guest of honor and was received with jubilation: Kyle Rittenhouse, 18 years old and, after his acquittal in November, a new media star of the right.
Rittenhouse shot two men and injured one during the anti-racist protests in Kenosha in 2020, but successfully pleaded for self-defense. His trial is evidence that “they” were working to “deprive us of our rights under the second amendment, our right to self-defense and our weapons,” said Rittenhouse in Phoenix. “Wait and see,” he replied when asked if he intended to sue the media for reporting him – someone would be “held accountable”.
“Turning Point USA”, which is headquartered in Phoenix, is one of the most important republican apron organizations and claims to be represented at one thousand universities in the country. The association receives donations from conservative groups and Republican politicians. In 2020, he reported around forty million dollars in revenue. Events like AmericaFest attract the most prominent representatives of the Republican right because Turning Point is designed to organize young people’s votes.
“You are a hero to millions”
Rittenhouse took part in a discussion on “Kenosha in front of the camera” with Charlie Kirk, the founder of “Turning Point”. There was also Jack Posobiec, a representative of the “Alt Right” movement, who, with 1.5 million followers on Twitter, is one of the most prominent Trump supporters on the internet. Kirk greeted Rittenhouse with the words: “You are a hero for millions, it is an honor to have you here!” Even before his acquittal, the 18-year-old had become a new figure to identify with for rights. There are now t-shirts and other promotional items with his likeness and sayings like “Kyle didn’t do anything wrong”. MPs like Matt Gaetz offered him internships in their convention offices.
The then 17-year-old Rittenhouse shot two men and injured one in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the summer of 2020 – but he did not have to go to jail. The Illinois-born teenager had brought an AR-15 assault rifle to the neighboring state and joined men who said they wanted to protect businesses from looting. Previously, a police officer had seriously injured the African American Jacob Blake by being shot several times in the back. Then there were protests and sometimes violent clashes between activists and the police. Rittenhouse shot the three men after they threatened him. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the heavily armed youth provoked the conflict. The jury believed Rittenhouse had defended himself and acquitted him.
Fully accepted role as a conservative identification figure
When Rittenhouse came to the convention center in Phoenix on Monday, his fans shouted “Kyle, Kyle” in the foyer, after which they continued with a standing ovation. The young man has now fully accepted his role as a new conservative figure of identification, wrote the regional newspaper “AZ Central” about the appearance. NBC commented that Rittenhouse’s invitation sent the dangerous message that it was okay to use extreme means to “defend” against political opponents. In advance, Rittenhouse had occasionally at least rhetorically distanced himself from the right by saying, for example, that he supported the goals of the Black Lives Matter movement. Now a journalist who asked Rittenhouse why he was for BLM was thrown out of the room in Phoenix. On the podium, the teenager was humble and said that he had “grown” through his trial and that he had always prayed to God – “for strength, not for an acquittal”.
Rittenhouse is received like a star in Phoenix
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Image: AP
In addition to Rittenhouse, a number of other prominent rights appeared in Phoenix. Donald Trump Jr. gave a speech and delighted the fans by using the slogan “Let’s go, Brandon” and animating them with a wave of the hand to the speaking choir, which stands in right circles for “Fuck Joe Biden”. MEPs Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert were also on the list of speakers.
The panel discussions over the four days had titles such as: “How Cultural Marxists Kidnapped America”, “How to Survive Wokeism” or “How to Teach Biblical Citizenship”. One panel attacked the anti-racist protests of athletes like Colin Kaepernick under the heading “Champions don’t kneel: How the left is ruining sports culture in America”. And a number of guests created enthusiasm with pithy sayings. “Only through my corpse” will be vaccinated against Covid-19, announced the former governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.