The International Podcast EP27: How Accused Killer Kyle Rittenhouse Became a Poster Child for the Right Wing Movement

Welcome to the final Edition of The International Podcast for 2020.

Today, Host of The International, Jeevan A. Robinson, speaks with Karim Zidan, Investigative Journalist at Right Wing Watch, a project of People for The American Way (PFAW). The conversation with Karim focused around the events, personalities and dynamics that led to the lionization of accused Kenosha killer Kyle Rittenhouse, by right-wing forces looking to destabilise the United States.

In August, 2020, the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA, erupted in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, as his children sat in his car. On the third night of unrest, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who is white, left his home in Antioch to join armed right-wing activists who claimed to be converging on the town in order to protect local businesses. But by the time the night ended, Rittenhouse had shot three protesters, two of whom died.

"The debate over Kyle Rittenhouse’s case—heroism or homicide, patriotism or plague—has become the new battleground for the American far-right as well as white supremacists around the world who are thrilled to have a new face for their cause," says Zidan

Listen to the full conversation below between Host of the International. Jeevan A. Robinson and Investigative Journalist for Right Wing Watch, Karim Zidan"