In an interview with Newsmax Wednesday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) defended Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old man currently facing a jury deliberation for shooting three men during the Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Aug. 25, 2020.
Gaetz also said he would make “a pretty good congressional intern.”
“He deserves a not guilty verdict, and I sure hope he gets it because you know what, Kyle Rittenhouse would probably make a pretty good congressional intern,” Gaetz said. “We may reach out to him and see if he’d be interested in helping the country in additional ways.”
Gaetz then thanked host Grant Stinchfield for his “advocacy for Kyle Rittenhouse.”
Rittenhouse is facing charges for five felonies, including first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of recklessly endangering safety in the first degree for killing two men and injuring another.
Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty.
Gaetz himself faces violations of federal sex trafficking laws by allegedly paying underage girls for sex in 2019.