- The former Virginia cop who was fired after donating to Kyle Rittenhouse's defense fund wants his job back, the Daily Mail reported.
- Norfolk Police Lt. William Kelly was fired from his job in April.
- Rittenhouse was acquitted from charges connected to fatally shooting three people, and injuring another on Friday.
A former Virginia cop who was terminated after donating to a legal defense online fund for Kyle Rittenhouse is now calling for his job back, according to the Daily Mail.
As Insider previously reported, Lt. William Kelly of the Norfolk Police Department was fired in April after it was revealed per The Guardian that he made the anonymous $25 donation on a Christian crowdfunding website called GiveSendGo.His identity was brought to light following a data breach of the website, which showed that he used his official email address.
In a comment on the crowdfund, Kelly said, "God bless. Thank you for your coverage. Keep your head up. You've done nothing wrong. Every rank and file police officer supports you. Don't be discouraged by actions of the political class of law enforcement leadership."
Rittenhouse was acquitted on charges in relation to the fatal shooting of two men and injuring a third during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August 2020. The protest happened during a time of anti-racism demonstrations throughout the US and more specifically, after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
After Kelly was let go from the department, the crowdfunding site "GiveSendGo" started to collect money for the officer, which currently has raised $113,259. Now, months later, Kelly told the Daily Mail that he donated to the fund to help cover his legal fees, adding that he gave the money anonymously so the department was not associated with the donation.
" I was interested in giving him the chance to defend himself in front of a jury," Kelly told the outlet. "I know that lawyers are expensive, and it's hard sometimes to get the message out there. I wanted to make sure that he had the means necessary to make his claim in court."
According to the report, Kelly filed a grievance, in which he noted that the chief of police was pictured in uniform holding a sign at a BLM protest last year, stating that "the hypocrisy is dumbfounding."
He added: "The sign demanded justice for that person, but that shooting was still under investigation to determine whether or not that officer should be charged criminally. It's very inconsistent," Kelly told the Daily Mail.