The Eric Metaxas Show - Kyle Rittenhouse (Encore)

Episode Date: December 8, 2023

Kyle Rittenhouse discusses his story in his upcoming book 'Acquitted'.

Folks, welcome to the Eric Mataxis show, sponsored by Legacy Precious Metals. There's never been a better time to invest in precious metals. Visit legacy p.m.investments.com. That's legacy p.m. Investments.com. You checked your bucket list lately? Are you ready to take care of item number seven? Listening to the Eric Metaxe show? Well, welcome. Tune in and then move on to item number eight, skydiving with Chuck Schumer and

AOC. Here now is Mr. Completed Mind. bucket list at age 12, Eric Mattaxas. Hey there, folks. At this joyous time of year, we bring you loads of Christmas cheer. That's a quote from Bugs Bunny, one of my favorite characters. But I got to tell you, Christmas cheer, what does that even mean? It means a lot of things.

One of the things it means to me, every year on this program, we get to participate in, it's the very meaning of Christmas. It is so beautiful. I don't know what angle to hit it from. I will just start right at the middle. Jesus came to set the captives free. You've heard of that. CSI, Christian Solidarity International.

We partner with them every year at this time, in this Christmas season, to set literal captives free, to literally set them free. We're not talking about metaphorically, although, of course, that's a part of it. But in this case, it's literal. There are captives in Sudan.

We have talked about it on the program before. They are literally enslaved, not sort of enslaved, literally enslaved. It's horrifying. But CSI has been at work for years and years working, figuring out how to free them. This is modern day abolition. This is wiping out slavery in a part of the world where it exists right now today. If you love Jesus, if you love other people, this is something you can do at this time of year and I often say to people, why do you do this in somebody's name? Say, hey, grandpa, in your

name, you didn't need another sweater. In your name, we freed a slave. We freed a captive. $250 is the total price. If you can give that to free a person to set them up in a life of freedom. I have CSI's Todd Chapman on with me right now. Todd, welcome back. Thanks, Eric. Always good to be here with you. Yeah, it's exciting to me that we get to actually do this. And I want my audience to be excited, that you get to live out your faith in a way that it's rarely so clear, so simple, so obvious, that by giving a certain amount of money, you're contributing to actually free people from slavery. Give us the background. You said that it was it in the 90s that there was this war in Sudan? Yeah. So it actually started in 1983.

And basically what happened was the Islamic, you know, reigning government, if you will, basically said to Sudanese Christians, you don't have a right to, you know, religious freedom anymore. You can't be a Christian. And then they partnered with Arab-backed militia and turned them loose to go on raiding parties. And anybody that they encountered who didn't convert to Islam, they were allowed to take them captive. And so what they did, these are a South Sudanese residence. many of them Christians, and they said, I'm not converting. They took them to North Sudan, and they became indentured slaves to primarily cattle ranchers up in that country. And they have remained there to this day, many of them. I mean, now tens of thousands have been set free, thanks to generous Christians, many of which Eric Metaxus listeners were so grateful for that. But there are still thousands and thousands of men, women, and now grown, but they were children

when they were abducted who are still enslaved. They've had children in slavery. So we've got now multi-generations of slaves. And we're working every year to set them free. What we do is we have slave retrievers is what we call them. They go and they negotiate with these cattle ranchers who have slaves. And we're able to exchange cattle vaccines that they need. They can't get them very easily.

They can't afford to buy them. And we negotiate the slave's freedom. So there's no cash exchanging hands. There's no chance that we're going to somehow encourage them to go take more slaves. That's actually outlawed now. They can't go take more slaves. We're just trying to free the ones that remain. And every year we have three or four slave liberations.

We go up and retrieve as many as we can and we bring them back to South Sudan. There's a big party when we get them down. We celebrate their freedom. And where we can, we get them reunited with their family. Many times they haven't seen their family, their parents, their extended family in decades. And we reunite them. If we can find them, we get them anchored in a church and a faith community. And they get skills training, whatever they need to get them on a path to a new life.

It is, as you said, Eric, it's a picture of the gospel. This is the gospel. And I echo what you said. This is something that every Christian needs to be involved with because it's so simple. It's not expensive. $250. I mean, so many of us are so blessed that $250 will not appreciably change our quality or standard of life at all, especially, you know, if you did that once a year, we can all afford to do that.

maybe you can do much more than that. But man, just celebrate that God is bringing you again this opportunity to rescue a human being from slavery. And we thank you for even considering it. It's, it's, it's, it is an unbelievable thing. And I want to say, folks, $250 is the amount that does it, right? So that not just frees the slave from slavery, but even more. And this is the larger part of the $250, sets them up in a life of freedom.

We've talked about it on the program before. They get what CSI calls a bag of hope. They get all this stuff that enables them to go into a life of freedom. It's not like you're just set out on the street, like, okay, you're free now. Now you have to figure out how do I go forward. So they literally get a goat. They get seeds to plant. It's a whole system that CSI has worked out and everything, freeing the slave, this celebration

that is put on once they're, freed and then setting them up in a life of freedom is all for $250. So you thank God for a strong U.S. dollar, that $250 of your money can do all of this. It's not $2,500. It's $250. You can do this. And I say to people, get your kids involved. What are we doing for Christmas, Mommy?

I'll tell you what we're doing. There are human beings in the world that are enslaved. Oh, I thought slavery was abolished. Well, it was abolished in the West. but there are Muslims who believe, according to their religion, that they are able, allowed to enslave people, and they have done it. But we, because we're Christians, we have the ability to free these slaves. We believe in doing that.

What do we get back? We get back the joy of knowing we participate in what God is doing in the world today through people who actually believe in him and who live out their faith. Faith without works is dead. This is something we get to do. It's amazing to me, Todd, that CSI has made this possible because it's one thing we could say, oh, wouldn't it be great if, well, CSI has done this. Do you know how long CSI's been doing this?

I mean, because to set this up for such a long, so that they can actually do this, this is what's amazing to me. Yeah, we actually got involved in this work in 1995 where, you know, we were aware that this had happened and we began actually negotiating the legislation to be passed that this could no longer happen again. So CSI had a hand in negotiating that process and made ongoing slavery, enslavement of these Sudanese Christians illegal. And then we tried to get some legislation passed that would actually mandate that they be set free,

failed at that. And so that's when we began. We just said, well, if the governments aren't going to help us do this, we'll go out and do it. And we've come to Christians all around the world, especially here in the U.S., every year since. and you've so generously donated. Tens of thousands of these slaves have been freed because of the compassion and the love of Christians. And there's many more.

We've got to get another liberation coming up early this year. And so we're hoping and praying that during our year-end campaign, we do this every year here on your program. We're hoping and praying that we can see at least another 700 slaves liberated. We've done far more than that in the past. And so who knows what God will do. But he does it through you. So thank you for giving generously. Thank you for praying about what God would have you.

deal. We're so grateful for you. And I want to say, folks, you should be so excited. You get to do this. You get to do. This is not an idea. This is like, I got an idea. I wonder if, no, you actually get to do this. CSI has done the work by the grace of the Lord. They have done all this work. They've set this up. They have the people already in the process of this. All they need is our money so they can do it. so they can buy the things to set these slaves up now in a life of freedom and so on and so forth. So if you can't give $250, what can you give? $50, $100. Whatever you can give goes to freeing actual slaves.

I want to give you the phone number. By the way, you know where to go. MetaxistalkisTalk.com is the website. You'll see the banner right there, metaxistock.com. Please go there. Please be generous. if you prefer to call 888-253-3522, 888-253-3522, 8-88-253-35-22. 8-88-253-35-22.

Please be generous. God bless you as you give. This is an exciting thing you could do at this time of year to make your faith real, to make Christmas come to life. Do it. God bless you. Folks, right now in other parts of the world, people's lives are being threatened simply for believing in Jesus. People have been enslaved for their faith. So listeners

to this show know that I'm passionate about the work of Christian Solidarity International because they protect and free those who are being persecuted and enslaved for their Christian faith. I've got to thank you for your life-changing generosity for years now. If you've given a CSI through this program, you have played a role in freeing literally thousands of captives. So as we near the end of this here, can I ask you to give once again your gift of just $250 will free a woman in Sudan who has been enslaved for years. You can buy a believer's freedom and provide her with food and other supplies necessary to start her new life. Just $250. Maybe you can give more and free more people. Call 888-2533522, 888-2533522 or go to metaxistalk.com. Please do it metaxisototot

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young man, and it's my joy to have him on the program. He has written a book. He's only 20 years old, but he has written a book about what he went through a few years ago. And he says in the book, He says, I never wanted to be a public figure. I was homeless as a small child and raised in government subsidized housing. My goal was to be a cop or a paramedic. I went to Kenosha. This is Wisconsin. You remember what happened there to help my community not to become a whipping boy in the national debate.

In less than three minutes, the direction of my life was horribly altered when I was forced to defend myself with deadly force. So much was said and written about me that was not true. Now, for the first time, I want to tell my story. My name is Kyle Rittenhouse. I was attacked. I defended myself. I was prosecuted. I've had the privilege of meeting Kyle in person, and it's a privilege now to have him

on the program. Kyle, welcome to this program. Thank you, Eric, for having me. Well, listen, I was thrilled when I heard that you had written a book because your story, you know, I'm very sorry as somebody easily. old enough to be your father and then some that you had to go through this. But you went through it and you came out really, you're a truth teller. You've, you've been heroic in ways that many of us would never dream of. But the fact that you put it in a book, it's important that people know your

story. And it's one of the reasons obviously I want to have you on this program because some people don't know your story. So why don't we, why don't we start there? I mean, again, you're 20 years old. How old are you when this happened? I was 17 when this happened. Okay. So just tell the story of what happened. Remind people of what was going on in Kenosha three years ago. So three years ago in Kenosha, on August 25th of 2020, I was attacked. I was at the riots providing first aid and medical attention to those who needed. I was protecting businesses by putting out fires when fires were started by rioters. And then I was told there was a fire at one of the car lots. We were were protecting. So I grabbed a fire extinguisher. I went down to that car lot and I was ambushed. And

I was- Now, before you get into the, that's the meat of the story that you were ambushed and you defended yourself. And a lot of us can't even dream of being in a situation like that. That's actually a very small part of the book. Well, no, I know that. But I'm saying, but it's the heart, it's really what made you the national figure that you've become because of these few moments. But my question, before we get into that part of it, what led you to go to Kenosha? Because obviously, you don't live in Kenosha, you live near there. But what led you to go there and to do these kinds of things? Because, you know, most people would just sit home and say, I don't want to get in trouble

or I don't want to get involved in that or I don't want to, you know. So in other words, who were you as a person that you had this idea in your head, I want to help? Like, you know, where does that come from? Were you an Eagle Scout? Where did that idea come from? Because most people, I would say, would kind of hang back and just be thinking of, you know, I just don't want trouble or I don't want to go where there is trouble. What was it about you if you can say, you know?

Absolutely. What brought me to Kenosha was the drive to help people. I was asked by some people to go there and help protect the businesses. And I agreed. I said, yeah, I'll go down there and I'll help. I'll bring my first aid kit. And I'll provide medical attention. to those needed and I'll put out fires.

I was a firefighter EMT cadet for the Antioch Fire Department and I was a police explorer for the Graz Lake, Grace Lake Leonard. Say that again more slowly because this is key. You said you were a what? I was a fire cadet for the Antioch Police Department. A fire cadet. Okay.

Amazing. 17 years old. Go ahead. And I was also a police explorer for the Grey's like Lennonhurst Police Department. So you were already obviously really interested in this stuff and you were being trained to help. And at what age did you think you wanted to go in that direction of helping people as a fireman, as a cop? At what point in your life did that seem to be a thing for you? Well, I wrote about this in my book. I talk about from a very young age, how I wanted to be a police officer. One of my earliest child

memories was a birthday party from when I was very young, six or seven years old, where I got a police helmet and the whole costume and I was just obsessed with it and I would wear it everywhere because when I was younger I was like, these are the people who protect us. And I grew up in an area that wasn't very pro police when I was very younger when I was young. And I just didn't like that people didn't respect the people who were protecting us and who were putting their lives on the line to help us. It's just amazing that you, that you're aware that at such a young age. Obviously, this is the story in the book.

And by the way, the book is titled Acquitted. What a great title, because by the grace of God, you were acquitted. And I just want to say, folks, if you know Kyle's story, we'll be talking about it in this hour, but it's in the book. It just gets me choked up when I think that a young man would go through what you went through Kyle. It's unbelievable. And I think it's only the grace of God that you were acquitted because we're living in a country right now where the courts and the judges, justice is not guaranteed, which is a, it's a heartbreaking thing to say. Well, so let's get into it

then. Your story, you were telling what happened. So here you are somebody who says, I want to help. 17 years old, that's a very tender age to go out there. You obviously know, how to use a gun. You think of it as self-defense. You're not out there to cause trouble. This is to prevent trouble. Absolutely. I brought that rifle to protect myself.

I wasn't old enough to carry a handgun. If I was old enough to carry a handgun, I would have carried one concealed, but the laws didn't permit me to do that. I carried a rifle because that's the only gun I could carry lawfully, and that's what I used to protect myself. And thank God I had it, because if I didn't, I would be dead.

See, people don't know this story. I mean, so tell the story. Here, you're running to put out a fire. You said you were ambushed. Who would ambush somebody trying to put out of fire? Why? I have no idea. I don't know why they chose me.

I don't know why they decided to ambush me, but they shot at me. They chased me down and they tried to steal my gun. It was a masked man who chased me, cornered me, and left me with no other choice. but to defend myself so I could go home. So you were obviously trying to do good. A masked guy, I'm just guessing, was this Antifa probably? I don't think Mr. Rosenbaum was part of Antifa.

I think Mr. Rosenbaum was there to cause chaos because he was released from a mental hospital that day, which he shouldn't have been released from. and he was there to poke the flame and cause violence. And he attacked me and he tried to kill me. He even threatened to kill me earlier that night saying, if I catch you alone, I'm going to effing kill you. Now, when you say earlier that night, what did he see you doing?

So he's wandering around looking to cause trouble, it seems like. This is chaotic. There's rioting. There's burning. There's all this stuff happening. When he saw you, what did he perceive you? doing that would trigger him to say something so vicious and threatening? I have no idea. All I was doing was putting out fires and giving people first aid. And I guess he just

didn't like that I was helping people. That says a lot right there. That's kind of, that's just wild. That's just wild. So you said that this person who attacked you had been let out of a mental institution. Yes, Mr. Roosevelt that day was released from a mental hospital and dropped off in the streets of Kenosha. We learned in the trial that he actually went to his girlfriend's house who had a restraining order against him and she told him to leave. So he walked back downtown and joined the riots and was starting fires and causing violence and then attacked me. It's just, it's hard to believe and it's really good to hear you tell your story. And again, the book is titled Acquitted in case he didn't know how this turned out by the grace of God.

So you say he attacked you. So you are, did he attack you from behind? You're on your way with a fire extinguisher. What is going on? So I'm running down Sheridan Road heading towards the car source lot number three as we referred to it. It's across the street from Frederick Memorial Hospital. And they were setting a car on fire. And I get there to put the car fire out.

and then a 6-5-220-pound man who's now serving a prison sentence for kidnapping somebody, approaches me with a firearm in his hand, walks towards me, I drop the fire extinguisher, take a step back to retreat and run back to where the police line is. But Mr. Rosenbaum, who's hiding, awaiting my arrival behind multiple cars, comes out from those cars and begins to chase me. as he's chasing me, I point my firearm at Mr. Rosenbaum while running, and that doesn't deter him. That doesn't stop him from continuing his attack and carrying out his threats he made earlier to kill me.

And I keep running until I have nowhere to go. I'm surrounded between four cars in between me and like five cars behind me and a mob of maybe 200 people behind those cars armed with bats, guns, knives. Okay. Hang on, folks. That's called the cliffhanger. We'll be right back talking to Collar Rittenhouse. The new book is acquitted.

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So, Kyle, you're just sharing this. tremendous moment that you say this giant man, six foot five, 22 pounds, who is now in jail, he comes after you with a gun? Like, who does he represent? Like, why is he coming after you with a gun? I have no idea, but he has this firearm in his hand, and he steps towards me, and then Mr. Rosenbaum starts chasing me, the guy who threatened to kill me.

And then he cornered me in between a line of cars with a line of cars back, making a box essentially with about 200 people behind those cars armed with weapons, leaving me with nowhere else to go other than to turn around and confront Mr. Rosenbaum, who's attacking me. And he reaches for my gun, grabbing a hold of my firearm. Well, hold on, hold on. He reaches for your gun? Yes, sir.

I just, this is unbelievable. This is like, like, this is like classic, like you, how do you get? it shot, you chase someone with a gun, and then you grab their guy. I just can't believe this, hearing it from your mouth, the way this went down that you had to go through this. So, so, so, so you have this giant guy chasing you. Then this other guy who has told you he will bleeping kill you earlier on. Now he's chasing you, even though you point your gun at him so that he will back away, he does not back away. And he comes to you and actually tries to grab your gun. Okay. And right before I turn around to confront Mr.

was a mom. Mr. Ziminski, the guy who's now serving a prison sentence, who came at me with the gun first before I tried to run to the police line, he fired a shot in my direction shooting at me, which was a part of the reason why I turned around, only to be confronted with this angry man who's masked who I recognized from threatening to kill me earlier in the night, grabbing a hold of my firearm, trying to rip it out of my arms. You just said that the other guy, the big guy, actually fired a shot in your direction? Yes, sir.

This is unbelievable. And you didn't perceive him as being part of the Antifa crowd, the rioting crowd, the BLM crowd, or did you? I don't know. I didn't perceive anybody to be any a crowd other than these were the people who were attacking me and these were the people trying to take my life from me. It's just, it's at least fascinating to understand

why these strangers are attacking you, firing at you, I mean, it's hard for us to imagine. So, okay, so then as you say, Mr. Rosenbaum tries to take your gun away from you. This is just unbelievable. Absolutely. And then I fired four shots knowing that if he got my gun from me, he would kill me. If he got me on the ground, he would have killed me. He would have seriously hurt me or I would be dead if I didn't fire those four shots,

protecting myself. Yeah, this is, it's just, and you already had been shot at by this other person. I think for a lot of us, Kyle, it's difficult for us to comprehend the level of violence we're talking about in an American city. It's one thing for people to be setting things on fire. But, you know, this kind of life-threatening stuff, this is not just vandalism. This is, this is unbelievable. And this is, of course, part of what you were there to protect against. Absolutely.

I was there to provide first aid and provide medical, provide medical attention and put out fires and I was ambushed and I was attacked. And then I was attacked again after that. So you were attacked again after you fired these four shots. Correct. I was, after I defended myself from Mr. Rosenbaum, an even larger mob started to form. And they, I tried to get to the police. line on Sheridan Road, and they chased me down. They hit me with skateboards and hit me with

rocks, getting me on the ground. We have jump kick man who I shot at twice. I missed jump kick man, and he actually kicked me in the face, center of the face, pushing my head into the concrete. and immediately after that Mr. Rosen, Mr. Huber, the second guy that I was forced to defend myself against, he comes up to me for a second time to bash my skull in with a skateboard as he's pulling my gun away for me. And I shoot him once. And he unfortunately passed away as well. But as he was doing that, he was hitting me in the head. pulling my gun away, putting his knees in my chest, trying to kill me while I was on the ground.

Again, hard to process that in America, you have people doing these kinds of things to strangers who are trying to help. What happened to Mr. Rosenbaum? You shot at him. Mr. Rosenbaum passed away. So he passed away. He's obviously trying to take your gun away from you. You're saying to kill you, which sounds plausible to me. But so you're then running from that and then you're attacked by the second individual who is kicking you and hitting you with a skateboard and has you down on the ground.

Yeah, it's actually two different incidents. I was attacked by a jump kick man who I missed two shots against. and then I was attacked again by Mr. Huber. There was also about four or five people around me coming at me with weapons. I pointed my gun at them right after, right before Jump Kickman, and they retreat and I didn't shoot them. And then Jump Kick Man came and he didn't stop. He didn't retreat or stop his attack.

Folks, I'm talking to Kyle Rittenhouse. The brand new book, which tells the whole story is acquitted. We'll be right back. My Pillow is excited to bring you their biggest betting sale ever and just in time for Christmas. For a limited time, get the Giza Dream Bed Sheets for as low as 2998. A set of pillowcases for only 998 and rejuvenate your bed with a My Pillow mattress topper for as 9999. They also have blankets and a variety of sizes, colors and styles. They even have blankets for your pets.

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Again, use code Eric and save MyPillow.com. use code, Eric. Welcome back. I'm talking to Kyle Rittenhouse. You may know that name. He has written a book, which tells the story in case you want to know what happened. The book is acquitted. So, Kyle, again, my mind just reels as I hear you tell the story of what happened to you. A young man, you haven't, you know, you're 17 years old when this happens. You haven't been in Iraq or in Afghanistan where you've been in, fire fights, you're a citizen, and suddenly you find yourself people trying to kill you.

It's just hard for us to comprehend that Kenosha goes to this level of, you know, of, this is not just people vandalizing stuff. This is, this is violence. Absolutely. Kenosha was on fire that night. People were injuring other people. I saw a video at the night previous. an officer getting his getting knocked out with the brick there was a business owner who put out

a fire at his mattress store he had to have his jaw wired shut because they kicked his face and shattering his jaw these were people who were coming out and causing violence and hurting other people it it's it's unbelievable that um law enforcement allowed this to happen uh in an american city. It's absolutely horrifying. I'm I'm I'm just amazed that all of this happened. We haven't gotten to the end of your story of that night. So they're trying to kill you. These are angry mobs who see you. I don't know how they see you. I don't know why they would be violent. I don't know why when you just said that they tried to kill this guy who was trying to defend his store. This is how he makes a living selling mattresses. He's trying to put out a fire

and they break his jaw. This is really, really dark stuff. So where did we leave your story? Where were you? You said that he's trying to kill you, trying to hit you with the skateboard, kicking you in the face, and you shot him. Yes. After Jump Kickman, there was Mr. Huber who hit me in the head with a skateboard for a second time while I was on the ground. And I shoot him defending myself from him. But immediately after there's a third attacker who I shoot in, he was hit in the arm, the arm that his firearm was holding. He comes at me with a gun pointed directly at my head.

I point my gun at him and he puts his hands up. So I lower my weapon. And then as soon as I lower my weapon, he takes a step towards me, with his pistol again directly at my head. I remember time just slowing down. And I thought this was the moment I was going to die. I was like, this is it. This is, this is where I die.

And then the grace of God, I was able to have enough alertness to defend myself from him. And hit him, I hit him in the bicep, which happened to have the gun he was holding. And that stopped his attack. after he chased me down with the mob, after he all surrendered while I was on the ground, and then pointed a gun in my face for a second time. Again, it's just hard to believe that you've got people with guns coming after you. What have you done?

This is just, it's mayhem. So what happens at this point now? You're defending yourself. what happens once you shoot him in his arm? After that, I have one more person who is in front of me with a pipe pole. I point my gun at him very briefly as I'm getting up. And he puts his hands up. And as I'm walking away, there's dozens of gunshots.

I don't know where they're coming from, but I hear them coming at me. I can hear them zipping across my head. and I'm walking backwards to the police line and I finally get to the police line my rifle's on a sling I drop my rifle I put my hands up I keep walking I walk up to the cruiser and at the cruiser I told the cops

hey I was just attacked I had to kill somebody I need I need help I went to the police I told them I tried to tell them what happened they must not have heard me or something or they were too focused. Their adrenaline was pumping or something.

But they told me to get away from the police car and go home. They pointed a gun at me and they pepper sprayed me. Wow. I don't remember being pepper sprayed by the police. I saw it on video. I don't remember having a gun pointed at me by them, but I read it in the police report. I'm not saying it didn't happen.

So in their mind, you're just part of the noise and chaos, and they want you to, they want you to disperse, get out, go home. Correct. And at what point, what happens after this? I mean, you go home, you realize you've potentially killed someone or maybe you already knew by that point. Where do you go? What do you do at that point?

I went home. My phone was dead. I couldn't contact anybody. Put my phone on the charger. My mom went and looked for me and my sisters. and then they came back. I went with my mom to the police department. I turned myself into law enforcement.

I was Mirandized. I invoked my Fifth Amendment rights, remained silent. I was arrested, and I was put in jail for 87 days until I was bailed out. Then I was put on trial where I was acquitted

and found not guilty by a jury of my peers. And that was probably the most stressful time of my life being on trial outside of being attacked. I was now 18 years old when I was on trial, and I didn't know if I was going to be spending the rest of my life in a prison cell for getting attacked. And if I would have went to prison, I would have been killed. We saw what happened with Mr. Chauvin very recently, where he got stabbed the other day in prison. The prison system wasn't going to protect me.

They were going to leave me out to get killed, just like they did with Mr. Chauvin. You know, I'm just amazed again at your age, at the age of 17, being able to use a firearm. When did you learn to use a firearm? Was this while you were working with the cops or was it before that? I actually had very little training in firearms. I learned a little bit as a police explorer. That specific rifle I probably only shot. I've only shot that specific rifle twice and maybe put 100 rounds through it.

I didn't really do much training with it. I just knew the basics of how that gun worked. And I really put my survival on the grace of God, him watching over me and protecting me and putting essentially like a shield of armor over me, getting me out alive. When I hear what you went through, it does sound like the grace of God for sure.

We'll be right back final segment talking to Kyle Rittenhouse. The book is acquitted. Hey, get rhythm. When you get the blues, come on get rhythm. When you get the blues, get a rock and roll feeling in you. Welcome back. We're talking to Kyle Rittenhouse, who has a brand new book out called Acquitted. Kyle, I neglected to ask you, where can people get a copy of the book?

Because it's not so easy right now. Well, right now you can pre-order it at riddenhousebook.com. That's the only place where you can get a, a physical copy of the book. There is an e-book available. We're still working out the kinks on that. But you can go to writtenhousebook.com and pre-order it. You can also pre-order a signed version.

I'm going to be hand-signing a bunch of copies. The pre-order is going to be ending in about a week or two. The pre-order for the signed copy. And then we're going to be shipping really soon. Okay. Writtenhousebook.com. But this brings up, and I want to keep you over into the second hour, but this just brings up the crazy times in which we'll live that there are companies,

major companies to say, like, oh, I don't want to, I don't want to handle that book. They've got every other kind of book, but if they don't like something politically, or they, you know, they just decide to censor in a sense. I mean, this is, you know, stores where you can buy MindCumph, they will not sell, you know, your book because they don't like it. And so, folks, you want to go to Writtenhouse. book.com. It may be available other places by the time we air this, but writtenhousebook.com right now, if you want to get a signed copy or a pre-order a copy. But you said you've written a chapter on your dog.

Can you talk about that? Absolutely. So my dog, Milo, he's, he's my service dog. And I got him shortly after I was billed out of jail. And he's been with me ever since. He's even over here sitting by my side as I'm doing this interview. He goes with me everywhere. He helps with my anxiety going out into public. It's very hard. people don't understand that it's very hard to go out into public. It's hard to go into crowded places. It's hard to go into malls. I don't go to amusement parks anymore. I don't do a lot of the things that I used to enjoy before the incident happened just because I get so stressed out and scared that I'm going to get attacked again or I'm going to get harassed. So I bring Milo with me and he helps me manage those places. He goes, goes with me into restaurants and he gets sense when my anxiety's high and he knows how to task, he knows how to call me down. I used to have really bad panic attacks. I'll have one every now and then.

They've got him better, but he would help with my panic attacks from the incident that happened and he would calm me down. He sleeps with me at night and he knows when I'm having a bad dream and he'll physically wake me up if I'm having a nightmare. This is amazing. I mean, I did not know, you know, I don't know anything about service dogs. So this is kind of amazing to hear you say that this dog does this. Absolutely, him.

He's a golden retriever. He just turned three November 2nd, and he is the best dog ever. One day you may get to meet him, but he's really helped me through a lot. He's been a great dog to have. He's been by my side through it all. I didn't take him with me to the trial because I wasn't allowed to. But I wrote a story in the book on the last. day of trial the day I was acquitted, not knowing if the jury has reached a verdict yet,

but I'd write about how during the trial I would wake up in the morning. I would take Milo out and I would just play ball with him. I would just, I would just play ball with Milo just to forget what's happening for a little bit. And that was enough piece to not realize that, hey, I may be spending the rest of my life in prison. And I want to, we're going to keep you over into our two, folks. The book is acquitted. The book is acquitted. You can get it at writtenhousebook.com. I want to remind you before we leave our one that we are doing a fundraiser with CSI. There are people who are enslaved. And we, by the grace of God, have the ability through CSI. We partner with CSI to free people from literal slavery in Sudan. If you want to know more,

go to metaxis talk.com. It's a very exciting opportunity that we can get involved. So to find out more, go to metaxis talk.com. You'll see it right there, metaxis talk.com. And we'll be back with Kyle Rittenhouse.