Trump says Kenosha teen gunman was ‘violently attacked’

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - US President Donald Trump defended 17-year-old gunman Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot and killed two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin last week.

When Trump was asked at a White House press conference Monday if he defended the actions of vigilantes like Rittenhouse, he said the teenager was “violently attacked,” suggesting the shooter acted in self-defense.

“That was an interesting situation. You saw the same tape as I saw, and he was trying to get away from them, I guess it looks like, and he fell and then they very violently attacked him and it was something we’re looking at right now and it’s under investigation,” Trump said. “I guess he was in very big trouble. He probably would have been killed,” he added.

Rittenhouse, who idolizes the police and reportedly supports the pro-police movement Blue Lives Matter, has been charged with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted homicide after shooting three protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Aug. 25, killing two of them, which unleashed chaos on the streets of a city that had spent days protesting racial injustice and police violence after Jacob Blake, a Black man, was shot in the back by a White police officer seven times.

Rittenhouse’s defense attorneys have said he acted in self-defense, but a complaint filed by Kenosha County prosecutors said he opened fire on unarmed demonstrators.

Videos of that day show Rittenhouse running from the scene after firing his gun and killing his first victim.

The president's news conference came a few hours after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden accused Trump of fomenting violence at recent protests.

During the press briefing, Trump announced that he is not planning on cancelling his visit to Kenosha on Tuesday, ignoring Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, who in a Sunday letter urged Trump to cancel the trip, saying the president’s presence “will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together.”

Trump also said he would not meet Blake’s family during his visit to Wisconsin because it would be "inappropriate" to speak with the family’s lawyers.

"I thought it would be better not to do anything where there are lawyers involved," he said. "They wanted me to speak but they wanted to have lawyers involved, and I thought that was inappropriate, so I didn't do that."

Trump is scheduled to meet with law enforcement and business owners in Kenosha.