In a new documentary about Kyle Rittenhouse, former spokesperson Dave Hancock reveals his disillusionment after discovering Rittenhouse’s text messages expressing a desire to “murder” shoplifters. These texts were sent before Rittenhouse fatally shot two people during racial justice protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020.
Hancock, who also served as Rittenhouse’s security guard, shared his insights in the Law & Crime documentary that premiered on Friday. The film examines the failed criminal prosecution of Rittenhouse, who killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber.
According to Hancock, Rittenhouse had a history of patrolling the streets with guns and borrowing security uniforms, seemingly looking for conflict. Initially, Hancock believed Rittenhouse’s self-defense claims regarding the shootings of Rosenbaum and Huber. However, his perspective shifted after learning about the text messages, which emerged during a civil lawsuit filed by one of the victims’ families seeking wrongful death damages.
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The texts, sent from Rittenhouse’s phone on August 10, were in response to shoplifters at a CVS pharmacy. They included statements like “The world is disgusting,” “It makes me [fucking] sick,” and “I will fucking murder them.”
Hancock described Rittenhouse as a “scared kid, arrogant, oblivious to the world around him,” and admitted that he initially believed Rittenhouse’s story, which he now sees as lies.
Rittenhouse, then 17, traveled from Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha during protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Armed with a rifle, he shot and killed Rosenbaum and Huber, and wounded a third man. He was charged with multiple felonies but was acquitted in November 2021, a verdict celebrated by some far-right figures and criticized by civil rights activists.
The wrongful death lawsuit against Rittenhouse is still pending. Hancock continued to work as Rittenhouse’s spokesperson and security guard after the acquittal, promoting a book by Rittenhouse about his experiences. However, Hancock had moved on by the time the documentary aired.
Rittenhouse’s book reportedly did not perform well on Amazon’s Kindle platform. Recently, he faced backlash on social media for initially not supporting Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election, eventually endorsing him under pressure.
The Trials of Kyle Rittenhouse will be rebroadcast on Sunday at 8pm ET on Law & Crime, available on basic cable and streaming services like YouTube TV and Peacock, and also on demand.