In his testimony, Kyle said that he shot and Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and injured Gaige Grosskreutz because he was afraid for his own safety. “I brought the gun for my protection. I didn’t want to have to kill anybody that night,” Kyle said during the trial.

Kyle also claimed that he had come to the protests to provide medical aid and protect property during the protests.

Kyle has already been held up as a heroic figure by some on the right who believe that his actions were almost entirely justified. His case has become a lightning rod, but it's worth noting that in all of the coverage of his trial, the lives that he took are often a secondary part of the story. Whatever his reasons for being there, he killed two people. Now, they aren't around to tell their side of the story.