Marjorie Taylor Green nominates Kyle Rittenhouse for Congressional Gold Medal
Photo by Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images and Sean Krajacic - Pool/Getty Images
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has nominated 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
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The medal is the highest award from Congress and is given for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions.
Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges on Nov. 19 after testifying he acted in self-defense in the deadly Kenosha shootings that became a flashpoint in the debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice in the U.S.
The teenager had been charged with homicide, attempted homicide and reckless endangering for killing two men and wounding a third with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle in the summer of 2020 during a tumultuous night of protests over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer.
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Rittenhouse, a then-17-year-old former police youth cadet, said that he went to Kenosha to protect property from rioters but that he came under attack and feared for his life. He is white, as were those he shot.
Greene's resolution says the teen protected the city during what she called a "Black Lives Matter riot."
The measure requires two-thirds of Congress to approve it.
If it's approved, Rittenhouse would join a list of recipients that includes people like Mother Teresa, George Washington, and Nelson Mandela.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.