Kenosha GOP Chair Says 80 Percent of People in Area Support What Kyle Rittenhouse Did

The chair of the Kenosha County Republican Party said Tuesday that about 80 percent of the people she has spoken with support the actions that alleged shooter Kyle Rittenhouse has been accused of taking during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last week.

© Scott Olson/Getty National Guard troops arrive while demonstrators hold a Back the Blue Rally in front of the Kenosha County Courthouse on August 30, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. On Tuesday, the chairwoman of the Kenosha County GOP said 80 percent of the people she’s spoken with in Kenosha support Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old who allegedly shot three people during a protest in Kenosha last week.

Chairwoman Erin Decker discussed Rittenhouse and President Donald Trump's anticipated visit to Kenosha during an interview with Fox & Friends on Tuesday morning.

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"It looks like it was self-defense, and, talking to people around the area, I would say about 80 percent of the people support what Kyle did," Decker said.

The remaining 20 percent of Kenoshans are "probably the people that can't stand Donald Trump and can't stand anything conservative or Republican, so they're just going to attack anything that resembles that," she said.

Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Illinois, was arrested on August 26 after allegedly shooting three people during a protest in Kenosha the night before. Two of the people he allegedly shot died and the third person was taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Kenosha Police Department. Rittenhouse was charged with first-degree intentional homicide on August 28.

The shooting occurred on the third night of protests that began in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man whom Kenosha police said was shot in the back seven times by an officer responding to a domestic incident call. Blake's family's lawyer, Ben Crump, said last week that Blake was paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the shooting, which is currently under investigation.

Kenosha Unrest: Teen Arrested In Deadly Shootings During Jacob Blake Protests

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Trump was expected to visit Kenosha on Tuesday to survey areas within the city that were damaged during the last several days of protests. Though Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian both voiced concerns about the timing of Trump's visit, Decker said she believes those who support Rittenhouse also support the president and the decisions he has made about Kenosha thus far.

"I believe the same people that support Donald Trump are happy that he came into the city—or sent troops into the city—and that includes Republicans, independents and Democrats," Decker said. "I believe they're the same people that support Kyle Rittenhouse."

Newsweek reached out to the Kenosha County GOP and the Kenosha County Democratic Party for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Decker said her biggest hope for Trump's visit is that the president will provide resources to business and property owners affected by the recent protests. "After the devastation of the riots and arson that happened in Kenosha, we can use all the help we can get," Decker said. "That's what I'm hoping for, is that Trump comes and lends a helping hand."

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