Kyle Rittenhouse says he is destroying AR-15 used in Kenosha shootings

Kyle Rittenhouse said he will “destroy” the AR-15-style weapon he used in the fatal shooting of two people last year at a racial injustice protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

During an appearance on the conservative podcast “The Charlie Kirk Show,” Rittenhouse said Tuesday that the gun was being "destroyed right now.”

“We don’t want anything to do with that,” he said.

The 18-year-old was acquitted on five felony charges related to his actions on Aug. 25, 2020, during a protest over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer.

Rittenhouse was charged with reckless homicide in the slaying of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and intentional homicide in the death of Anthony Huber, 26.

He also faced a charge of attempted intentional homicide for severely wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, a 27-year-old paramedic from suburban Milwaukee who was there that night volunteering his medical services, and two counts of recklessly endangering safety.

Photos of him holding the AR-15-style weapon were widely circulated from the Kenosha protest. He claimed he was trying to protect property during unrest decrying Blake's shooting and fired the weapon in self-defense.

In the podcast, Rittenhouse said that from a young age he wanted to be a police officer “to be able to help people.”

He also talked about taking the stand, saying “my reason for taking the stand was I wanted the world to know who the real Kyle Rittenhouse was.”

During the interview, he criticized Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger for pointing an AR-15 during the trial, with his finger on the trigger, to demonstrate to the court how Rittenhouse carried his gun during the deadly protest.

“He was pointing the gun at the gallery, and I looked at my attorney. I said, ‘Corey, that’s Gun Safety 101.’ Loaded or unloaded, treat a gun like it’s loaded,” he said, referring to one of his lawyers, Corey Chirafisi.

Rittenhouse hasn’t said what’s next for him.

He said during testimony that he was taking online courses at Arizona State University. However, the school said this week that he is not currently enrolled there, The Arizona Republic reported.

Rittenhouse has since made several appearances on conservative programs including an interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson in which he said he supports the Black Lives Matter movement.

"I’m not a racist person," Rittenhouse told Carlson.