Port: This self-defense bill in Bismarck, backed by Kyle Rittenhouse, is probably bad policy
MINOT, N.D. — As I write this, Kyle Rittenhouse , who has become a celebrity to right wing audiences after he shot and killed two people and wounded a third during violent protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, testified in Bismarck this morning on self-defense legislation.
Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges after claiming he had acted in self-defense. The legislation he’s supporting is House Bill 1213 , introduced by Rep. Nico Rios, a Republican from Williston.
You can read Rittenhouse’s pre-submitted written testimony here . The full committee hearing, including Rittenhouse’s testimony, can be viewed here .
This legislation seeks to have the state reimburse defendants if they are acquitted of a “crime a violence,” a term defined in the bill as, “a violation of state law in which an individual causes death or physical bodily injury to another individual,” specifically including “assault” and “murder.”
Rittenhouse’s testimony is apt, I suppose. He was acquitted of a violent crime, and, to help pay his legal fees, went so far as release a video game, called “Kyle Rittenhouse’s Turkey Shoot,” which allowed players to kill creatures exhibiting “liberal bias.”
