Does Kyle Rittenhouse have a lengthy criminal history? Fact Check

ByCraig Haley

Messages on social media claim the teenager who shot three people during protests in Wisconsin – Kyle Rittenhouse – has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2016.

FALSE

The criminal history attributed to Rittenhouse includes failure to obey a traffic officer, possession of THC, operating a firearm while intoxicated and disorderly conduct. The same message – that also claims Rittenhouse was driven to Wisconsin by his mother – list details of the charges from both 2016 and 2018.

An example of such a message in its entirety is below.

17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse-Lewis’ mom Wendy drove him and his AR-15 rifle from Antioch, IL to Kenosha WI to “defend” businesses that he does not own from riots.
He ended up shooting 3 people, 2 died and 1 lost his arm.

Since some people are always quick to pull up shooting victims prior criminal history in order to justify their ill fate, I thought I’d post the shooters instead.

His prior criminal history,
In 2018, he has a charge for disobeying officers.

2016
Case Number: 2016CM000410
Case Type: MISDEMEANOR
Classification: MISDEMEANOR CLASS A
Counts: 1
Crime Type: MISDEMEANOR
Degree Of Offense: MISD. A
Crime County: ROCK
Offense Code: 941.20(1)(B)
Offense Date: 01/29/2016
Offense Description: OPERATE FIREARM WHILE INTOXICATED
Charges Filed Date: 03/01/2016
County: ROCK
Plea: NOT GUILTY
Disposition: CHARGE DISMISSED BUT READ IN
Disposition Date: 10/04/2016
Status: CLOSED
DISORDERLY CONDUCT

2016
Case Number: 2016CM000410
Case Type: MISDEMEANOR
Classification: MISDEMEANOR CLASS B
Counts: 1
Crime Type: MISDEMEANOR
Degree Of Offense: MISD. B
Crime County: ROCK
Offense Code: 947.01(1)
Offense Date: 01/29/2016
Offense Description: DISORDERLY CONDUCT
Charges Filed Date: 03/01/2016
County: ROCK
Plea: NO CONTEST
Disposition: GUILTY DUE TO NO CONTEST PLEA
Disposition Date: 10/04/2016
Status: CLOSED
POSSESSION OF THC

2016
Case Number: 2016CM000410
Case Type: MISDEMEANOR
Classification: MISDEMEANOR
Counts: 1
Crime Type: MISDEMEANOR
Degree Of Offense: MISD. U
Crime County: ROCK
Offense Code: 961.41(3G)(E)
Offense Date: 01/29/2016
Offense Description: POSSESSION OF THC
Charges Filed Date: 03/01/2016
County: ROCK
Plea: NOT GUILTY
Disposition: CHARGE DISMISSED BUT READ IN
Disposition Date: 10/04/2016
Status: CLOSED
POSSESS DRUG PARAPHERNALIA

2016
Case Number: 2016CM000410
Case Type: MISDEMEANOR
Classification: MISDEMEANOR
Counts: 1
Crime Type: MISDEMEANOR
Degree Of Offense: MISD. U
Crime County: ROCK
Offense Code: 961.573(1)
Offense Date: 01/29/2016
Offense Description: POSSESS DRUG PARAPHERNALIA
Charges Filed Date: 03/01/2016
County: ROCK
Plea: NOT GUILTY
Disposition: CHARGE DISMISSED BUT READ IN
Disposition Date: 10/04/2016
Status: CLOSED
FAILURE TO OBEY TRAFFIC OFFICE…

2018
Case Number: 2018TR011432
Classification: FORFEITURE U
Counts: 1
Offense Code: 346.04(2)
Offense Date: 08/09/2018
Offense Description: FAILURE TO OBEY TRAFFIC OFFICER/SIGNAL
Charges Filed Date: 08/13/2018
Plea: NO CONTEST
Disposition: GUILTY DUE TO NO CONTEST PLEA
Disposition Date: 09/18/20

White Supremacist would be quick to state that he’s a drug addict and a criminal IF he was a POC. They would say he deserves everything that happened to him. Instead they’re calling him a “patriot” and started a GoFundMe account for his legal fees.

In August 2020, a 17 year old teenager called Kyle Rittenhouse shot three protestors in Kenosha, Wisconsin, killing two. He was subsequently arrested and charged. Soon after, messages like the above soon began to spread online purporting that Rittenhouse had a significant criminal history.

However, the message above is inaccurate. The charges listed above were actually committed by a man with the same name.

We searched the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access public records for the name Kyle Rittenhouse, and the crimes committed by two different men appeared.


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As expected, 17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse appeared (whose middle name is Howard) with three case numbers attributed to him, that included the charges of speeding on a freeway, operating without a license and reckless and intentional homicide. All case numbers are from August 2020.

However our search also turned up an additional four case numbers (see below,) the details of which appear in the message above. However these case numbers – two from 2016 and two from 2018 – are cases involving a different Kyle Rittenhouse, with the middle name Joseph. This second Rittenhouse is demonstrably a different person, with a different middle name and a different date of birth (he is 31, while Kyle Howard Rittenhouse is 17 at the time of writing.)

As such, the crimes listed in the above message were not committed by 17 year old Rittenhouse, who would have only been 13 years old in 2016.

The additional claim in the message above that Rittenhouse’s mother drove him to Kenosha is unproven. There are currently no definitive reports on how Rittenhouse made his way to Kenosha.

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