As the verdict echoed across America, Kyle Rittenhouse, the US teen acquitted of fatally shooting two men during protests and riots against police brutality in Wisconsin last year, claimed self-defense is "not unlawful."

A jury found Rittenhouse, 18, not guilty of reckless and deliberate killing and other charges related to the August 2020 shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Friday.

The decision spurred intermittent protests around the country late Friday, from New York to Portland, Oregon, but it also drew acclaim from Rittenhouse supporters outside the courthouse and gun rights advocates, reflecting the case's polarizing nature.

The boy — seen smiling as he travels in a car following the verdict — said he was pleased that his "tough trip" was over in comments televised by Fox News.

"The jury came to the correct conclusion – self-defense is not criminal," Rittenhouse said ahead of a lengthy interview with Fox that will run Monday evening and a documentary that will appear in December.

 

“I’m glad that everything went well… We made it through the hard part.”

Rittenhouse’s family later said via a spokesman that they had been moved to an undisclosed location.

“They are doing well right now, they’re in an undisclosed location, and they’re a family and everybody’s just ecstatic,” spokesman David Hancock told CBS.

Rittenhouse's case received widespread attention, in part because it arose from last year's nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, which contained a contentious combination of guns, racial tensions, and vigilantism.

During the two-week trial, the adolescent claimed that after being accosted during a night of unrest in Kenosha, he shot two individuals dead and wounded another with his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in self-defense.

Rittenhouse, who lived in Illinois, claimed he went to Kenosha to protect businesses from looters and to provide medical assistance.