Kyle Rittenhouse’s mother is 49, not 38, as some social media posts have claimed

Kyle Rittenhouse’s mother did not drop her son off "in the middle of a riot armed with an assault rifle," as social media posts once claimed. 

We rated that claim False in 2021, during Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial in the 2020 shooting deaths of two people at a Kenosha, Wisconsin, protest.

Rittenhouse, who was 17 when the shooting happened, said he fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, in self-defense; a third person was injured. Rittenhouse was acquitted of criminal charges in the shootings, though he still faces civil litigation.

Meanwhile, more misinformation about his mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, has populated social media platforms. 

"Kyle Rittenhouse’s mom is 38. 38," one June 2 Threads post said, sharing a photo of Wendy Rittenhouse.

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

This post’s photo is from 2021, during a period when Wendy Rittenhouse spoke publicly in support of her son. But, even then, Wendy Rittenhouse wasn’t 38. 

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stated on August 21, 2018 in in a blog post

"California lawmakers are planning to push free abortion pills on all students across the state as part of a ‘super progressive’ new policy."

Public records reflect that she’s 49, born in November 1974.

We rate claims that she’s 38 False.

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.