Ann Coulter sparks outrage after tweeting that she wants accused Kenosha shooter for president

Justin Vallejo

August 27, 2020, 3:03 PM EDT

Ann Coulter said

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter tweeted support for accused Wisconsin shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, saying "I want him as my president".

Twitter removed Ms Coulter's statements for violating the platform's rules after users took offence at her opinion, made in response to a user saying they wanted the teenager as a "bodyguard".
Mr Rittenhouse, 17, was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in connection with shootings that left two people dead during the violence in Kenosha on Tuesday night.

In case @AnnCoulter deletes it, here's the tweet. Please report this vile woman & her vile tweet. @jack & @twitter please help.

If these hateful people with large followings are allowed to continue to declare #OpenSeason on Black lives, on YOUR platform, more people will die. pic.twitter.com/ITfgxZZypz
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB)
August 27, 2020

Analysis of the video from the scene of Tuesday night's shootings showed a man pursued by a group before an unknown gunman fires nearby. He turns in the direction of the shots. As someone else lunges towards him, the teenager appears to fire four times.

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The second shooting occurs after the man trips and falls while leaving the scene of the first shooting. As three people rush toward him, he appears to fire four times while at least 16 other gunshots sound out around him.
This timeline of events has left some observers to question whether the man was acting in self-defence, with Fox News host Tucker Carlson also being criticised for considering that scenario.
"A court will decide whether what you just saw qualifies as self-defence. As of tonight, we really don't have more details," Mr Carlson said on his show Wednesday. "We do know why it all happened, though. Kenosha is devolved into anarchy because the authorities in charge of the city abandoned it. People in charge, from the governor of Wisconsin on down, refused to enforce the law. They stood back and they watched Kenosha burn.
"So are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder? How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would? Everyone could see what was happening in Kenosha. It was getting crazier by the hour," he continued.

Kenosha devolved into anarchy because the authorities abandoned the people. Those in charge, from the governor on down, refused to enforce the law. They've stood back and watched Kenosha burn. Are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder? pic.twitter.com/oul2KUiDi3
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson)
August 27, 2020