Lauren Boebert Challenges Madison Cawthorn to a Sprint in Bizarre Rittenhouse Internship Bet

Far-right congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado became the most recent Republican House member to float an internship for vigilante shooter Kyle Rittenhouse.

Last year, a 17 year old Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin amid unrest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Armed with an AR-15, Rittenhouse guarded a car dealership before leaving the property and shooting three people, killing two of them. He was later charged with multiple counts of murder before being acquitted earlier this month.

Over the course of his trial, Rittenhouse became a hero of the right. Hours after a court hearing this year, he was spotted at a bar gleefully taking pictures with admirers, wearing a "free as f**k' tee shirt and flashing the "okay" sign—a sign famously co-opted by internet extremists to mean "white power."

Since his acquittal, right-wing Congressmen Matt Gaetz of Florida, Paul Gosar of Arizona, and Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina have all publicly offered Rittenhouse an internship on Capitol Hill.

In comments on the far-right disinformation outlet Newsmax, Boebert threw her hat in the ring as well, challenging her friend and colleague Cawthorn—a wheelchair user—to a sprint.

Watch below.

Boebert told right-wing commentator Sebastian Gorka:

"Now I do have some colleagues on the Hill who have, just like me, offered Kyle Rittenhouse an internship in their office, and Madison Cawthorn, he said that he would arm wrestle me for this Kyle Rittenhouse internship. But Madison Cawthorn has some pretty big guns, and so I would like to challenge him to a sprint instead."

The bizarre attempt at a joke fell flat.

Boebert and her ilk also faced backlash for their eagerness to hire a teenager who sought out unrest and killed two people.

Rittenhouse's lawyer has condemned the "disgusting" effort, claiming the politicians are working to profit off Rittenhouse's celebrity.