Ted Nugent claims “if you're against Kyle Rittenhouse, you're on the side of evil”
Ted Nugent has said that those who oppose Kyle Rittenhouse’s not guilty verdict are “on the side of evil”.
The US musician, who is an outspoken supporter of gun ownership, claimed that “good over evil” prevailed when jurors last month acquitted the 18-year-old for fatally shooting two men and wounding another at a 2020 racial justice protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Rittenhouse had argued that he acted in self-defence. He claimed that he was in the town armed with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle to protect property and provide medical assistance amid the unrest.
Nugent shared a post-Thanksgiving YouTube livestream on Monday (November 29) in which he praised the trial’s outcome.
“Now is the time to optimise the thankfulness for this unique, wonderful, one-of-a-kind American dream, by taking advantage of examples of where good overcomes evil, where good overcomes bad and the ugly. The ultimate example of that is that Kyle Rittenhouse implemented, executed perfect self-defence” [quotes transcribed by Blabbermouth].
“If you’re against Kyle Rittenhouse, you’re on the side of evil,” he continued. “If you’re against Kyle Rittenhouse, you think that evil should win over good. That’s exactly what that means. If you are saying, ‘Thank you, God,’ ‘Thank you, the Kenosha jury,’ ‘Thank you, the Kenosha judge,’ ‘Thank you, Kyle Rittenhouse,’ because good people believe in good over evil, if you really believe that, a family – hallelujah – isn’t enough.
He continued: “This is a moment in time. This is a powerful moment for good people to stand up and be counted, because those against Kyle Rittenhouse are on the side of evil. They think that paroled child molesters and rapists and felons should be let out on the street to threaten our lives. And according to the left, according to CNN, according to the protestors against Kyle Rittenhouse, we should bend over and let evil kill us. That’s what the other side stands for. That’s sick.
“People against self-defence that are voicing against Kyle Rittenhouse, those people are sick. That is an evil sickness, to think that good people should surrender to life-threatening evil. That’s what we’re looking at here.
“Let everybody know that we support good over evil, Kyle Rittenhouse over evil, self-defence against evil, life-threatening forces,” he added. “Now is the time to shout that loud and proud everywhere we go.”
Nugent’s claims follow Donald Trump welcoming Rittenhouse to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida a few days after the trial’s conclusion. The former US president said he was a “nice young man” who was a victim of “prosecutorial misconduct”.
Earlier this year Tom Morello defended his unlikely friendship with Nugent in an interview with NME.
The Rage Against The Machine guitarist previously told The Howard Stern Show in March that while he and Nugent (who has faced frequent scrutiny over his controversial right-wing views) “certainly have differences, I consider him a friend”.
Speaking to NME about their relationship, Morello said that he “reserves the right to be friends with anybody”.
“I reserve the right to confront opinions I disagree with, with open heartedness and love, or by throwing a brick,” he continued. “That’s up to me.
“In the case of Ted, I know he’s become this right-wing caricature but there have been several times where I have reached him on issues that you might be surprised about. But he is still crazy uncle Ted who says all sorts of shit.”
Morello added: “It can be important to keep an open dialogue with people you disagree with, especially in this global community of disagreements. Sometimes it’s just as important to block them, though.”
Meanwhile, Nugent previously claimed that the US doesn’t have a gun problem.
