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The family of Kyle Rittenhouse says an online store they set up to sell merchandise in order to raise money for his legal defense has dropped them after allegedly receiving a complaint.
“Our printing platform, Printful, has placed all unfulfilled orders on hold and denied any additional orders. They say it is because our merchandise violates their ‘Acceptable Use’ policy,” said a Twitter post from the family Monday evening.
“They had one complaint. We had over 400 orders,” the post continued.
“This is what they fear so much,” it added, showing the graphic design used on the merchandise, which said: “Free Kyle – Self-Defense is a right, not a privilege.”
“We have yet to receive any formal notification or response to our emails. Nothing. Let that sink in,” the post concluded.
However, Printful posted a statement Tuesday morning in reply to the Rittenhouse family post.
— Printful (@Printful) December 22, 2020
“We have chosen to discontinue our business relationship with this store in order to mitigate business risk. Ultimately, we don’t want to be affiliated with a story that’s involved in such a complex, controversial, and ongoing case,” the statement said.
“We’re following the example of other businesses and platforms taking a similar approach, like GoFundMe, Etsy, Facebook, and YouTube,” it added.
Rittenhouse, 17, was arrested in late August following the shooting deaths of two rioters in Kenosha, Wis., and the wounding of a third, who was armed with a handgun.
The riots began after video of a Kenosha police officer shooting Jacob Blake, who appeared to resist arrest and may have been reaching for a knife inside his vehicle at the time.
Several videos from the Aug. 25 rioting depict Rittenhouse, who was armed with an AR-15-style rifle, being chased and struck by several demonstrators. In one, Rittenhouse was kicked and punched, while also being slammed over the head with a skateboard.
Kenosha resident Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and 26-year-old Anthony Huber were both killed. A third, Gaige Grosskreutz, 22, was severely wounded in his right arm as he approached Rittenhouse with a handgun.
Rittenhouse has been charged with two felony counts of murder and one felony attempted murder.
The online store featured clothing emblazoned with the “Free Kyle” graphic design including t-shirts, hoodies, and bikinis. Also, the design was featured on stickers, laptop sleeves, padded sports bra, face masks, and phone covers, as well as mugs.
Other online sales platforms banned the Free Kyle products as well but some, including Gunloot, a private vendor, continue to carry them, the Daily Mail reported.
In a statement posted to the FreeKyleUSA website, Rittenhouse’s mother, Wendy, thanked supporters of her son, adding, “I alone control this website and Kyle’s defense fund.
“We estimate Kyle’s defense costs for trial to be approximately $2 to $2.5 million and after turning over the $2 million dollar cash bail we are essentially starting at zero,” she noted. The family had raised about $56,700 toward a goal of $2 million before Printful shut down the store.
“We still have a long way to go. I know in my heart that Kyle will be acquitted,” she said. “Asking for help has never been easy for me, but Kyle and my family really need your help.”
BizPacReview’s CEO, Jack Furnari has donated a substantial amount of money to the fund personally and believes this case is an important opportunity for all Conservatives to take a stand.
“Why won’t you print ‘Free Kyle” merchandise?” he asked the printers. “Do you not believe in innocent until proven guilty?”
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Jon is a staff writer for BizPac Review with 30 years' worth of reporting experience, as well as an author and U.S. Army veteran. He has a BA in political science from Ashford University and an MA in national security studies/intelligence analysis from American Military University.
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