Kyle Rittenhouse reflects on the friendship of Charlie Kirk in an exclusive interview

EXCLUSIVE: Kyle Rittenhouse spoke with Fox News Digital Sunday of his friendship with Charlie Kirk, a link that started in 2021, when he attended the huge commemorative service of the conservative activist at State Farm Arena in Glendale, in Arizona.

Rittenhouse – which was connected for the first time with Kirk while facing accusations of homicide which made him a political lightning rod – said that he had immediately taken a leave to cry the loss of the founder of Turb Point USA.

“When Charlie was murdered, I was on lunch break at work,” Rittenhouse told Fox News Digital Sunday morning. “I just got home to let out my dog. And I went to X, and the first video I saw was that my friend was assassinated.”

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Kyle Rittenhouse, on the right, is presented to an enthusiastic crowd by Charlie Kirk, Middle, founder of Turning Point USA, as Jack Posobiec, on the left, host of America News Network, joined them on stage, on December 20, 2021, in Phoenix. (Ross D. Franklin / The Associated Press)

Rittenhouse added: “I took the rest of the work of the day. I took the rest of the week by leave because Charlie had a lot for me.”

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Kirk had been one of Rittenhouse’s most vocal supporters. He brought Rittenhouse to “The Charlie Kirk Show” on several occasions and presented him to several events organized by Turning Point USA.

In December 2021, at the Americafest Conference of Turning Point USA in Phoenix, Kirk told Rittenhouse that he was “a hero to millions”, according to The Washington Post.

Kyle Rittenhouse entered the courtroom to hear the verdicts during his trial before being recognized as not guilty of all the charges in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the county courthouse on November 19, 2021. (Sean Krajacic – Pool / Getty Images)

In 2024, Kirk threatened legal action after the demonstrators confronted Rittenhouse during an appearance at the University of Memphis, Newsweek reported.

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Since he was acquitted from all the accusations of Kenosha, Wisconsin, shots – where he pulled on three men during a riot in 2020 Black Lives Matter, leaving two dead – Rittenhouse has largely kept a low profile.

The colored guards occur during the commemorative service for the political activist Charlie Kirk at the State Farm Stadium on September 21, 2025, in Glendale, in Arizona. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Rittenhouse is one of the thousands of people assistant to the huge commemorative service on Sunday for Kirk, who was shot dead on September 10, 2025, while he was expressed at the University of Utah Valley in Orem, Utah.

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The public commemorative service included speeches by President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance.