Wendy Rittenhouse, mother of accused murder Kyle Rittenhouse, heaped praise on the judge overseeing her son’s case on Thursday night, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity that Judge Bruce Schroeder has been “very fair” and “doesn’t allow no nonsense” in his courtroom.
The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who is accused of murdering two people and trying to kill a third person during the violent Kenosha protests last year, has been marked by Schroeder repeatedly admonishing the prosecution for its tactics. The judge has also weighed tossing the whole case out on a mistrial with prejudice, which would prevent prosecutors from refiling charges against Rittenhouse.
During her appearance on Hannity’s show Thursday night, Wendy Rittenhouse first weighed in on her son’s panic attack when he took the stand in his own defense on Wednesday.
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“I just broke down with Kyle crying like that,” she said. “It made me feel heartbroken, sad. And I wanted to just go up there and hug him and tell him it would be OK.”
She also criticized President Joe Biden for a campaign video he tweeted during the 2020 election that featured an image of her armed then-17-year-old son alongside footage of violent white nationalists. “There’s no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night,” Biden captioned the tweet last year, referencing former President Donald Trump’s infamous “stand back and stand by” debate moment.
“I was in shock. I was angry,” Wendy Rittenhouse replied when Hannity asked how Biden’s tweet affected her. “President Biden don’t know my son whatsoever.”
“He’s not a white supremacist,” she added. “He’s not a racist. And [Biden] did that for the votes. And I was so angry for a while at him and what he did to my son, he defamed him.” (Last year, the Rittenhouse family said they planned to sue Biden over the clip.)
The Fox News host then brought up the testimony of Gaige Grosskreutz, the only shooting victim of Rittenhouse’s who survived that night. Grosskreutz acknowledged that he was armed with a pistol when he was shot, though he said his arms were raised when Rittenhouse pointed his AR-15 at him. Grosskreutz said he feared for his life.
“That star witness admitted on the stand under oath he aimed a loaded gun at your son before your son shot him,” Hannity said. “That seems like a classic case of self-defense. Your thoughts?”
“When I look at the video with that guy pointing the gun to my son’s head, I thought he was going to die,” Rittenhouse replied before breaking down in tears. “He pointed his gun at his head! It took a long time just to grasp that he was alive.”
Eventually, Hannity noted that Judge Schroeder has “been harsh against the prosecution,” repeating some of the judge’s admonishments of Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger throughout the case.
“Do you think your son has received a fair trial?” Hannity wondered aloud.
“The judge is very fair,” Wendy Rittenhouse affirmed. “People that I talk to that lives in Kenosha all their lives told me Judge Schroeder is a very fair judge and doesn’t allow no nonsense in his courtroom!”
The Fox News star wrapped up the conservation by asking Rittenhouse whether she feels her son would “go into a situation like that” again. Kyle Rittenhouse, who lives in Illinois, has said he traveled across state lines to protect stores and provide medical assistance during the violent protests sparked by the Jacob Blake shooting.
“With Kyle, I know him. He would probably do it again,” she said. “That’s the type of person he is. He always wants to help people.”
With it looking increasingly likely that Kyle Rittenhouse will be acquitted of murder charges, Fox News personalities have been flocking to his defense in recent days. Host Greg Gutfeld on Thursday praised Rittenhouse for doing “the right thing” by shooting his victims, saying he “did what the government should have done.”
