- Kyle Rittenhouse said on a podcast that he is having the AR-15 he used in Kenosha destroyed.
- Rittenhouse added that he did not "want anything to do with" the weapon.
- He was acquitted last month of five felonies, including first-degree intentional homicide.
Kyle Rittenhouse said he intends to destroy the AR-15 rifle he used in Kenosha.
During an appearance on the conservative podcast "The Charlie Kirk Show," on November 30, Rittenhouse, 18, said that the firearm is "being destroyed right now."
"We don't want anything to do with that," Rittenhouse told podcast host Kirk.
Rittenhouse was previously on trial for fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and injuring Gaige Grosskreutz, during the August 25 Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year. He was acquitted of five felony charges, including first-degree intentional homicide.
In the same podcast, Rittenhouse criticized Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger for placing his finger on the trigger during a courtroom demonstration, saying it was not "Gun Safety 101."
"He was pointing the gun at the gallery, and I looked at my attorney," Rittenhouse said, referring to one of the lawyers on his defense team, Corey Chirafisi. "I said, 'Corey, that's Gun Safety 101.' Loaded or unloaded, treat a gun like it's loaded."
Rittenhouse also said during the interview that he aspired to be in law enforcement when he was growing up.
"Growing up, I wanted to be a police officer, to be able to help people when they're having bad days," Rittenhouse said.
It is unclear what Rittenhouse's next steps post-acquittal will be. During his testimony, he said he'd been taking online courses at Arizona State University, but Arizona State University confirmed this week that he was not currently enrolled at the college. Students at the university called this week for Rittenhouse to be removed from online classes, calling him a "high-profile right-wing fascist icon."
Rittenhouse has over the last two weeks been meeting with conservative figures. He was interviewed by Fox News host Tucker Carlson and met with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Most recently, Rittenhouse was also embroiled in a QAnon feud after he made comments on lawyer Lin Wood, saying that he fired Wood over his QAnon beliefs and election-fraud conspiracy theories.