Kyle Rittenhouse says he’s inspired by Johnny Depp verdict to file defamation suits against those who called him murderer

CHICAGO (CBS) — Kyle Rittenhouse says Johnny Depp’s legal victory is fueling him to sue Mark Zuckerberg and several others.

Rittenhouse says he is preparing to file defamation suits against those he says called him a murderer and a white supremacist.

Rittenhouse’s lawyer says Zuckerberg is singled out because of Facebook’s designation of the Kenosha shootings as a “mass murder incident.”

On Aug. 25, 2020, two nights after police shot and wounded Jacob Blake, Rittenhouse shot three men amid civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He killed Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz in the arm.

Rittenhouse argued self-defense and was acquitted at trial last year.

On Wednesday, Amber Heard was found liable for defaming Depp in an op-ed published in the Washington Post. Depp was also found liable for a statement his attorney made to the Daily Mail calling her claims a hoax, a jury decided. Jurors awarded Depp a total of $15 million in damages and Heard $2 million. 

While the jury found Depp should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp’s award would total $10.35 million.