Donald Trump Jr has sparked backlash after posting a photoshopped picture of his father giving Kyle Rittenhouse the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The bizarre post features the caption: "2024??? Who knows?"
It comes after his father uploaded a celebratory message to Rittenhouse following the conclusion of his homicide trial.
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Trump's spokesperson, Liz Harrington, issued a statement saying: "Congratulations to Kyle Rittenhouse for being found INNOCENT of all charges. It's called being found NOT GUILTY-And by the way, if that's not self defense, nothing is!"
Rittenhouse was acquitted of charges after killing two men and wounding another during a Black Lives Matter protest in August last year.
Donald Trump Jr has posted other memes across his social media pages in support of Rittenhouse and condemned anyone who voiced concern over the verdict.
He earlier shared an edited image appearing to show Rittenhouse performing a colonoscopy on President Joe Biden.
On Friday, Trump Jr used Twitter to praise the gun lobbying group Gun Owners Of America for sending an AR-15 rifle to Rittenhouse. He deleted his tweet following backlash.
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The Rittenhouse verdict sparked protests across the US and reignited the controversial gun laws in the country.
Rittenhouse spoke with Fox News host Tucker Carlson earlier this week to defend his actions and said he was a supporter of Black Lives Matter.
He said: "This case has nothing to do with race. It never had anything to do with race. It had to do with the right to self defence.
"I'm not a racist person. I support the BLM. I support peacefully protesting and I believe there needs to be change. I believe there's a lot of prospect to misconduct - not just in my case but in a lot of cases."
Rittenhouse was 17 last year when he travelled from his home in Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha, Wisconsin to join citizens who claimed to be protecting property during the Black Lives Matter protests, which were sparked following the shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer.
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The teen was armed with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle and he claimed he used it in self-defence after he was attacked.
Rittenhouse also told Carlson that his former lawyers, one of whom is Trump ally and attorney, Lin Wood, had 'taken advantage' of him.
"Lin Wood was raising money on my behalf, and he held me in jail for 87 days, disrespected my wishes, put me on media interviews which I should never have done," Rittenhouse told Carlson.
"He said, 'Oh, you're going to go talk to The Washington Post' which was not a good idea."
Featured Image Credit: Richard Ellis/Alamy Stock Photo/Donald Trump JrTopics: News, Donald Trump, Kyle Rittenhouse
