Kyle Rittenhouse went to Kenosha to ‘help people’, claims mother

'He's with me. He's not leaving my sight,' says Wendy Rittenhouse after son released on bail

Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with shooting dead two people in Kenosha went to the city to "help people", his mother has claimed.

Wendy Rittenhouse said her 17-year-old son, who travelled from his hometown of Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha, Wisconsin amid protests against police violence in the summer, had no intention of hurting anyone.

“He was there to help people,” Ms Rittenhouse told local media outlet WISN-TV earlier this week.  

"He went there, spent the night at a friend's house before they went and cleaned graffiti up. He was always about helping people.”

Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and 26-year-old Anthony Huber on 25 August during unrest that broke out in Kenosha days after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

He is also accused of shooting and injuring a third man before feeling the scene back to Antioch.

His charges include first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.  

Ms Rittenhouse claims that her son acted in self-defence after being set upon by protesters.

“When I heard the charges, I was like, how? You look at the videos. It’s all self-defence. My son didn’t go down there to hurt anybody. He was there to help people.”

Both Ms Rittenhouse and her son are living together at an undisclosed location after he was released on bail last month.

"He's with me. He's not leaving my sight," said the single mother-of-three.

Following the shooting, Kyle Rittenhouse became a hero to some sections of the Republican Party and far-right who opposed demonstrations against law enforcement brutality.

With the help of celebrity backers and supporters, he posted a $2 million on 20 November.

He is scheduled to be arraigned 5 January in Kenosha County Circuit Court and faces up to 6 years in prison if found guilty.