A defense attorney for Kyle Rittenhouse has criticized Republican lawmakers seeking to “take advantage” of his client’s “fame” after his acquittal in a closely watched double homicide trial.

“There are a lot of people trying to take advantage of it, and I don’t think people should.” Mark Richards told Insider after a jury found Mr Rittenhouse not guilty of killing two men and injuring another following protests of police violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year.

At least three Republican members of Congress have suggested they want Mr. Rittenhouse as an intern. North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn – who also told his supporters “to be armed, to be dangerous and to be moral” – offered the teenager an internship via the story of Instagram.

Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar said on twitter that he would arm wrestle with Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz over “dibs” on Mr. Rittenhouse as an intern. Mr. Gaetz said conservative cable network Newsmax that his office “could contact him and see if he would be interested in helping the country in other ways.”

“They’re raising money on it and you’ve got all these Republican congressmen saying, ‘Come work for me.’ … They want to talk about his fame and I think that’s disgusting, ”said Mr. Richards Initiated.

The case and its outcome revealed deep partisan differences over issues related to the Second Amendment and whether it was appropriate for a teenager to arm himself against an upheaval in racial justice.

Right-wing and news figures have come to his defense, while civil rights groups and Democratic officials have argued that the case highlights failures in the criminal justice system.

Former President Donald Trump celebrated his acquittal, and his son Donald Trump Jr. tweeted, then deleted, an offer from a firearms rights organization send Mr. Rittenhouse an AR-15 type rifle, along with a “Kyle Support” card.

Mr. Richards called Mr. Trump Jr a “dumb”.

“He’s an idiot. I don’t need to dwell on this because it speaks for itself,” he said. Initiated.

Lawyers for Mr Rittenhouse successfully argued to jurors that their client fired his AR-15 type rifle to protect himself in self-defense against a violent mob who pursued him on August 25, 2020.

In an appearance on CNN Friday, Mr. Richards said he believed “too many people run with guns in our society.”

“I represent a lot of people who have legal harbor concealment permits who come in, they pull out the gun and there are problems from there whether they are under the influence of alcohol or they’re using it to threaten someone, ”he told CNN’s Chris. Cuomo. “I wish our society weren’t seen as being so dangerous that people need to arm themselves.”

Mr Richards – who was originally hired by former lawyers for Mr Rittenhouse, including electoral fraud conspiracy theorist Lin Wood – told The Associated Press that he did not join the case as “someone to go on a crusade.”

“They wanted to use Kyle for a cause and something that I think was inappropriate – and I don’t represent the causes. I represent clients,” he said.