Far-Right Kyle Rittenhouse Propaganda 'Not Factually Based,' Says Kenosha Militia Participant
One of the militia members who joined Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, told Hatewatch that far-right propaganda praising the 17-year-old accused murderer is harmful and said that he was not part of a 鈥渨ell-regulated militia.鈥�
Ryan Balch, the Wisconsin man who Hatewatch reported was immersed in white supremacist propaganda聽before joining Rittenhouse in Kenosha on Aug. 25, reached out to Hatewatch by phone. He offered additional context about what happened that night, when Rittenhouse allegedly killed two people and injured another. Balch, 31, described the militia contingent that descended on the city in the midst of civil unrest there as being 鈥渟mall groups of friends who went together鈥� in separate groups. He called the groups 鈥渁d hoc.鈥� Balch also told Hatewatch that Rittenhouse lied to him that night, claiming that he was 18 years old and an EMT, both of which were untrue.
Referring to the culture war surrounding the violence that gripped Kenosha in August, Balch told Hatewatch in a phone call:
I think that the propaganda around Rittenhouse is not factually based, which I mean, it鈥檚 propaganda, so of course. But 鈥� it鈥檚 really damning [when looking at] the facts of what happened. And, I think them lionizing him is only going to hurt him down the road. It鈥檚 only going to [make] the divide bigger. Myself personally, I don鈥檛 lionize him. Rittenhouse was a kid who lied to the people he was with. Anybody who was in proximity to him, he lied to us.
Rittenhouse has been celebrated as a hero by many far-right commentators. Fundraising efforts for his legal defense have pulled in . Fox News鈥檚 Tucker Carlson 聽on his show after his arrest on . A channel on the messaging app Telegram associated with the street-brawling Proud Boys聽published a propaganda video featuring images and video of Rittenhouse, glorifying him to the tune of the song 鈥淎 Real Hero鈥� from the soundtrack to the聽2011 film 鈥淒rive.鈥� President Trump also 聽during a press conference.
Balch dismissed the credibility of a potential criminal defense of Rittenhouse using the Second Amendment鈥檚 description of a 鈥渨ell-regulated militia,鈥� which is what his lawyer apparently 聽on his behalf in court.
鈥淭here was not a whole lot of communication [that night], and that was even within the protesters themselves,鈥� Balch told Hatewatch. Asked what he would need to call a militia well-regulated, Balch said, 鈥淭here would have to be some organization.鈥� Hatewatch reached out to Rittenhouse鈥檚 lawyer, John Pierce, for a comment on this story, through his firm Pierce Bainbridge. Pierce did not immediately respond.
Balch, who voted for Trump in 2016, expressed disappointment with the incumbent president鈥檚 response to Kenosha and America鈥檚 cultural divisions in a broader sense. He described Trump鈥檚 use of federal agents in response to civil unrest as being 鈥渢oo heavy handed鈥� and said he would be voting for in the upcoming presidential election.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a clear violation of the Constitution,鈥� Balch said, referring to Trump鈥檚 use of federal officers in response to unrest.
Disavowals and disconnect
Balch, who described himself as an Iraq War veteran with an interest in militia culture that dates back to 2014, first contacted Hatewatch on Sept. 2 to clarify the intentions behind his social media presence. On Facebook and on Twitter, Balch referenced the far-right boogaloo movement, retweeted white nationalist Richard Spencer聽and tweeted a link to a website hosting a Nazi-propaganda video cut with Hitler speeches. Balch also used Twitter to troll Parkland mass shooting victims and a gun control-supporting rabbi, while using esoteric, antisemitic slang. Balch confirmed to Hatewatch that he operated those social media accounts.
Balch made incongruous statements to Hatewatch while seeking to distance himself from far-right extremism. He said that his posts were made at a time when he sought to 鈥渋nfiltrate鈥� the white supremacist friendly 鈥渁lt-right鈥� movement. Hatewatch asked Balch to explain the motivations behind his infiltration effort, and he sent screenshots posted from a Facebook account called 鈥淎lt Right Autismos on Parade鈥� that mocked Nazism. Hatewatch was unable to verify a direct connection between that account and Balch, and he declined to provide any evidence after being asked. The screenshots he sent were also dated in July 2016, roughly half a year before he retweeted Spencer. When asked why he used his own name on his supposedly satirical Twitter account, Balch said he created it at a time when that company disallowed people from using pseudonyms. Twitter, however, has never held the policy he described. Balch also acknowledged having made 鈥減ast endorsements of national socialism and racism鈥� in 聽he published Sept. 2.
鈥淯nderstand that these views were not and have never been my own,鈥� Balch wrote separately in an email to Hatewatch. 鈥淚 tried to use humor to combat them. And my methods were at times hurtful to innocent bystanders. I deeply and sincerely apologize for that. As it was never my intention. Thank you for allowing me to clarify this publicly.鈥�
In the same Sept. 2 Facebook post in which he mentioned national socialism and racism, Balch also disavowed the boogaloo movement, which has been linked to an increasing number of crimes. On Aug. 27, police arrested a person affiliated with the movement for 聽to a Santa Clara, California, health official. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice charged 聽with attempting to become assets for the Sunni fundamentalist group Hamas. Those stories add to a list of crimes associated with that mostly far-right, antigovernment movement, .
鈥淚 Ryan Balch disavow any affiliations with the boogaloo movement. Either implied or assumed. Past or present,鈥� on Facebook.
