Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has introduced a bill to award Kyle Rittenhouse the Congressional Gold Medal.
A Congressional Gold Medal is the legislative branch’s highest honor.
According to the summary of the bill, which was introduced on Sunday, Greene seeks to “award a Congressional Gold Medal to Kyle H. Rittenhouse, who protected the community of Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a Black Lives Matter (BLM) riot on August 25, 2020".
The then-17 year old was found not guilty last week of charges including homicide, attempted homicide and reckless endangerment in the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz, 27. Rittenhouse shot the three men during last year's Black Lives Matter riots. It was determined by a jury that he was acting in self defense when he did so.
"Kyle Rittenhouse deserves to be remembered as a hero who defended his community, protected businesses, and acted lawfully in the face of lawlessness. I’m proud to file this legislation to award Kyle Rittenhouse a Congressional Gold Medal," Greene said in a statement to The Hill.
In response to the bill, a spokesperson for Rep. Matt Gaetz told The Washington Post, “We are concerned that awarding Kyle with a Congressional Gold Medal will give him a big head during the internship with our office.”
Rep. Gaetz and Rep. Madison Cawthorn have both offered Rittenhouse internships in their congressional offices.
"Congressional Gold Medals were recently awarded to United States Capitol Police officers and other law enforcement personnel who protected the U.S. Capitol during the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection as well as U.S. troops who died in a bombing at Kabul's airport amid the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan," the Hill noted in their report.
