Nearly $1 million has been raised for Kenosha shooting suspect Kyle Rittenhouse, according to a Christian fundraising site and the teen's lawyers
- A fundraiser on the Christian fundraising platform GiveSendGo has raised more than $390,000 to help pay legal costs for Kyle Rittenhouse, the suspect in the fatal shooting at a Kenosha, Wisconsin, protest.
- One of Rittenhouse's attorneys, Lin Wood, said on Twitter on Monday night that more than 11,000 people had donated a total of $605,550 to the FightBack Foundation to help pay for the teen's legal funds.
- Rittenhouse, who is accused of killing two people and injuring a third during a protest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, faces multiple charges, including homicide.
- John Pierce, an attorney who has announced he'll defend Rittenhouse, said funds for the legal defense would be raised through the nonprofit FightBack.
- The organizer of the GiveSendGo fundraiser said all money raised there would also go to FightBack.
A Christian crowdfunding website and the Kenosha shooting suspect Kyle Rittenhouse's lawyers say they've raised nearly $1 million for Rittenhouse's legal-defense fund.
A fundraiser on the Christian fundraising platform GiveSendGo says it has raised more than $390,000 for Rittenhouse, while one of the teen's attorneys, Lin Wood, said on Twitter on Monday night that more than 11,000 people had donated a total of $605,550 to the FightBack Foundation, which says its goal is to "bring lawsuits to stop the lies and smears of the radical left" and which is providing money for Rittenhouse's defense.
Rittenhouse is accused of killing two people and injuring a third during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the August 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake. The 17-year-old from Antioch, Illinois, faces multiple charges, including first-degree intentional homicide.
Last week, John Pierce said he would defend Rittenhouse alongside local attorneys, in an announcement that coincided with the launching of FightBack with Wood.
"The radical left has taken over mainstream media and they don't care about truth," FightBack said on its website. "They will lie, cancel, and defame anyone who stands in their way. But the truth still matters. And that's why we bring lawsuits to stop the left's lies. To defend the truth. To defend freedom."
The creator of the GiveSendGo fundraiser, meanwhile, has been identified only as a person named "Rob."
The fundraiser on GiveSendGo said it was in contact with Pierce about the funds it had raised. Insider was unable to verify whether the GiveSendGo fundraiser was indeed in contact with Rittenhouse's attorneys. The attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.
"Kyle now faces the wrath of those who would see us stripped of our God-given rights and reduced to servitude. He is in dire need of our help," an update on the GiveSendGo page says. "Kyle will likely need significant amounts of cash to post bail; for this reason, this fundraiser will be ongoing. His success is our success; his failure, the loss of our right to self-defense. I firmly believe that with the continued support of all of you fine people, Kyle will be freed."
Jacob Wells, GiveSendGo's founder, told Insider that his team had verified the campaign for Rittenhouse and the disbursement of the funds. He said the organizer asked to remain anonymous. In an update posted on the fundraiser's page on Monday, the organizer encouraged donors to help them reach $500,000.
It's unknown how much money FightBack itself raised between Monday and Thursday. The foundation's status as a 501-c(4) nonprofit social-welfare organization precludes it from being required to disclose who donated to it.
"It is average citizens who we believe will give what they can to help this boy despite unsettling times," Wood said on Twitter. "They are Freedom Loving Americans & backbone of America."
This article has been updated to include Wood's fundraising comments.
- Read more:
- Lawyers planning to defend the suspected Kenosha gunman run a right-wing organization that brings 'lawsuits to stop the lies and smears of the radical left'
- Volunteers who were serving food to Kenosha protesters were arrested by police for 'disorderly conduct,' authorities said
- Kenosha residents say the way police handled the 2 shootings this week tell you all you need to know about whether the city is racist
- A timeline of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, which has reignited anti-racism protests nationwide