Kyle Rittenhouse says he will not vote for Trump
Conservative campaigner Kyle Rittenhouse says he will not vote for Donald Trump in November's US election because he thinks the ex-president is "bad" at protecting gun rights.Mr Rittenhouse, now 21, shot dead two men during racial unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020. He was cleared of all charges the following year after arguing self-defence.
Instead of Trump, he plans to write in former Libertarian presidential nominee Ron Paul on the ballot.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to protect Americans' right to own guns and to roll back Biden-era restrictions on firearms.
Mr Rittenhouse - who became a cause célèbre among some US conservatives during his trial - met Trump just a week after being cleared of charges in November 2021, with the president calling him a "fan".
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Rittenhouse - now outreach director for the group Texas Gun Rights - said that "unfortunately, Donald Trump has bad advisors, making him bad on the Second Amendment", which protects gun ownership in the US.
"If you cannot be completely un-compromisable on the Second Amendment, I will not vote for you," he said. "We need champions for the Second Amendment or our rights would be eaten away and eroded each day."