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Scott Morrison Slams Liberal Staffer Who Dressed As Kyle Rittenhouse For Halloween

Scott Morrison Slams Liberal Staffer Who Dressed As Kyle Rittenhouse For Halloween

Barclay McGain has defended the costume and said people who took offence need to understand the law.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Scott Morrison has ripped into a Liberal staff member who dressed up as Kyle Rittenhouse for a Halloween party.

Barclay McGain held a paintball or airsoft rifle along with blue gloves and a t-shirt and shorts to the party last month, which is the same outfit Rittenhouse wore when he shot dead two people in Wisconsin last year.

The former chair of the Gold Coast Young Liberals now works for federal MP Andrew Laming.

He uploaded a photo of his party costume to the internet, along with a caption that said: "Kyle Rittenhouse on neighbourhood watch duties in Brisbane's south tonight ... #NotGuilty."

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's office said the outfit was not appropriate.

Alamy

"Mr McGain's actions were completely inappropriate and the prime minister's office has contacted Mr Laming to raise its serious concerns and options for further action," a spokesperson said in a statement.

McGain was working as an electorate officer in Mr Laming's office 18 months ago when he was fired for posting a disgusting and racist video that targeted First Nations people.

He was rehired six months later because Mr Laming described McGain as an asset because of his connections to young people.

McGain has since defended his Rittenhouse costume and said people who took offence need to understand how the law works.

"I thought it was topical. He had just been found not guilty, and you know, like any Halloween costume, I guess you're trying to excite people, entertain people," he said, according to the Guardian.

"Same as someone who dresses as Edward Scissorhands isn't saying, 'oh, you know, he was great to children'... The notion that I was impersonating a murderer or glorifying a murderer, I just don't think it stacks up."

He also added that dressing as Rittenhouse doesn't condone or endorse what the teenager did in Kenosha last year.

Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, travelled from Illinois to Wisconsin as protests were erupting after black man Jacob Blake was killed by a white police officer.

He had an AR-style weapon to protect himself and ended up shooting dead two people and injuring a third. His trial acquitted him on all charges after his lawyers argued the teen was acting in self-defence.

"He was clearly found not guilty," McGain said. "You know, this guy, his whole entire life will never be the same. You know, he'll never be able to go down to the shops for a cup of coffee."

Featured Image Credit: Facebook

Topics: Australia