Kyle Rittenhouse reveals he suffers 'nightmares and PTSD everyday' after shooting dead two people in self-defense during BLM riot as he releases new book 'to correct media narrative that I'm a racist'

Kyle Rittenhouse has revealed he suffers 'nightmares and PTSD everyday' after shooting dead two people in self-defense during a BLM riot in 2020. 

Rittenhouse, 20, was a teenager when he shot and killed Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum amid Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He's now releasing a new book to justify the actions he took. 

Rosenbaum, a 36-year-old man grappling with mental health problems, confronted Rittenhouse amid the civil unrest in August 2020 - two days after police shot Black man Jacob Blake in the back as he attempted to get into a car with his children.

During the riots, Rosenbaum aggressively pursued Rittenhouse, threw items at him and ultimately attempted to reach for his gun, according to eyewitness testimony, before a 17-year-old Rittenhouse shot and killed him.

After being acquitted of all charges, Rittenhouse became a poster boy for Second Amendment rights advocates and right-wing political commentators. 

Piers Morgan asked Rittenhouse: 'You killed two people and wounded a third, how do you feel about that?'

Rittenhouse bit back: 'Well, Piers, they attacked me. They left me with no choice. 

'I have nightmares every night of being attacked and being ambushed and them trying to steal my gun and pointing guns in my face. It's not an easy thing to do. 

'But I did what I had to do to stay alive and if I didn't, I would be dead.'

Morgan further quizzed: 'I'm just curious on a human level, you know, you're very young even now. You've killed two human beings and wounded a third, I just wonder how that feels?'

Rittenhouse answered the journalist: 'I don't think that's an appropriate question to ask how it feels. It's not an easy thing to do, it's something I live with every single day, it's nightmares I have. 

'It's something I have to deal with, I have to deal with the PTSD and the trauma from having to do that.'

The journalist then said that his answers were 'more about him' rather than how he feels about having taken two people's lives. 

But Rittenhouse answered: 'And like I just said, it's something that I deal with every day I deal with the PTSD and the trauma and the nightmares. It's not easy to deal with it.'

Despite being acquitted on homicide and attempted homicide charges in 2021, Rittenhouse, 20, was sued by the estate of one of the men he killed during the chaos in Kenosha. 

The estate of Joseph Rosenbaum has launched a lawsuit against Rittenhouse, as well as a number of law enforcement officers and personnel.

These claims, totaling 13 accusations including negligence and wrongful death, seek 'compensatory and punitive damages' for Rosenbaum's family, according to Texas Scorecard.

'I stood my ground, and I won't back down. I did what was necessary to protect myself, and it's clear the truth prevailed,' declared Rittenhouse.

'Every step forward is an uphill battle. I face unwarranted scrutiny and threats due to the false narratives spread by these lawsuits. No one should ever have to continually prove their innocence in a clear case of self-defense.'

The lawsuit alleges: 'Joseph Rosenbaum met his unfortunate demise due to the actions of Defendant Rittenhouse,' while demanding compensatory damages.

Lawyers for the Rosenbaum estate say that police did not enforce curfews and made no attempts to prevent armed individuals from getting involved in the protests.

'The law enforcement defendants deputized these armed individuals, conspired with them, and ratified their actions by letting them patrol the streets, armed with deadly weapons, to mete out justice as they saw fit,' the lawsuit claims.

'As a result, defendant Rittenhouse fired his assault rifle indiscriminately multiple times at citizens on the street. He shot and killed two men, seriously injured a third, and narrowly missed a fourth.

'They did not disarm him. They did not limit his movement in any way. They did not question him. They did not stop him from shooting individuals after he started. They did not arrest him, detain him, or question him even after he had killed two people.'

Besides Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse fired at two more assailants.

One of them, Anthony Huber, lost his life, while Gaige Grosskreutz sustained injuries.

Grosskreutz, who testified that he had pointed a pistol at Rittenhouse and was then shot during the 2020 riots, in February this year also decided to sue Rittenhouse for 'damages for emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, and other pain and suffering on all claims'.

Grosskreutz 'must live with the physical and emotional wounds inflicted by Defendant Rittenhouse and the Defendants who deputized and enabled him,' the lawsuit says.

Rittenhouse told Fox News Digital in response to Grosskreutz's suit: 'I guess it came as a shock to why he's filing a lawsuit because he admitted that he pointed a gun in my face and that he chased me down.'

He said that it would come with a hefty price tag, but said he was ready to prove his innocence 'again'.