Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse says he used his COVID-19 stimulus money to pay for the gun he brought to the protest

• Kyle Rittenhouse gave his first jailhouse interview to the Washington Post, in which he said he bought the gun he brought to the Kenosha anti-police-brutality protest using money from his government-issued stimulus check.
• Rittenhouse said he had to "protect" himself at the August 24 demonstration where he fatally shot two protesters and injured a third.
• Rittenhouse faces life in prison if he's convicted in the shootings.

Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse says he used his COVID-19 stimulus money to pay for the gun he brought to the Wisconsin protest where he fatally shot two men and injured a third.

Rittenhouse, 17, gave his first jailhouse interview to the Washington Post, in which he said he had to "protect" himself at the August 24 anti-police-brutality demonstration where he he fatally shot protesters Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and injured protester Gaige Grosskreutz.

"I don't regret it. I feel I had to protect myself," he told The Post of bringing a gun to the protest. "I would have died that night if I didn't."

Rittenhouse has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide, two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and possession of a dangerous weapon while under the age of 18. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

Rittenhouse told The Post that he used stimulus money he received as part of the government's CARES Act to pay for the gun he used in the shootings.

He didn't buy the gun himself — as a 17-year-old, he was too young to buy a rifle. Police say that Rittenhouse gave money to his 19-year-old friend Dominick Black to purchase the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle from Ace Home Center on May 1.

Black has since been arrested on charges that he supplied Rittenhouse with the assault rifle.

Rittenhouse's lawyer did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

See the Washington Post's full report here »

• Read more:
• Police arrested a 19-year-old man who bought Kyle Rittenhouse the gun he used to kill two protesters
• Kyle Rittenhouse's mom says her son was 'helping' businesses and 'protesters should not have been there'
• The Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse could be released from custody on $2 million bail
• Kyle Rittenhouse admitted he 'ended a man's life' and 'shot two white kids' in Kenosha shootings, but claimed self defense, police said