Examining the case of Kyle Rittenhouse, who is getting support from an apparel brand online after fatally shooting two protesters earlier this year, civil rights attorneys are becoming increasingly concerned about the internet's potential to taint a jury pool. A website designed in support of Rittenhouse displays more than 30 apparel items, featuring slogans such as “Free Kyle” and “Self-defense is a right, not a privilege," according to The Washington Post.

More than 800 donors have contributed to the website, raising about $60,000 to defend the teenager who is awaiting trial after killing Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum on Aug. 25 during protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The website “is dangerous for prosecutors," Jeff Neslund, a Chicago-based civil rights attorney, said.

“You’re going to have a lot of people who want to be on this jury to help this kid because they have an agenda, so prosecutors will have a tougher time to do their homework to flush those people out,” Neslund told The Washington Post. “But if someone says they never saw the website, what are you going to do? Check their browser history?”

John Pierce, a Los Angeles-based attorney for Rittenhouse, said the website is controlled by the teen’s family. The attorney, who's focusing on filing future civil defamation cases involving the family, said he's not receiving payment from the funds the website generates. 

“We have to do anything and everything to ensure that he gets the best possible defense, and that is expensive,” Pierce said. “We need to raise as much as we can. So we’re taking any and all measures to raise money.”

The website includes a statement from Rittenhouse’s mother, Wendy, as well as a video showing the woman's reunion with her son. There's also an 11-minute documentary on the site that portrays the protesters as dangerous. A statement on the website questions Rosenbaum’s death saying, “it remains unclear if all four of [his] wounds were caused by Rittenhouse.”

Civil rights attorneys view the website as a sign of a new era in trial defense, especially due to the influence of social media. 

“Just the fact that you can promote character evidence that may or may not be admissible [during a trial] on a website — it’s a different world,” Neslund said.

The 17-year-old was described as an American citizen who is being "sacrificed by politicians," in the video on the website.

“But it’s not Kyle Rittenhouse they’re after," the narrator states in the video. "Their endgame is to strip away the constitutional right of all citizens to defend our communities, our personal property, our lives, and the lives of our loved ones. This is the moment when the home of the brave rise to defend the land of the free.”

Rittenhouse's family has sold "Free Kyle"-branded bikinis and sports bras at their merchandise store while also launching a "Free Kyle" Twitter account, according to Yahoo News. However, the family's vendor, Printful, discontinued its partnership with the clients, saying they violated the acceptable use policy.

"We have chosen to discontinue our business relationship with this store in order to mitigate business risk," Printful said in a statement. "Ultimately, we don't want to be affiliated with a store that's involved in such a complex, controversial, and ongoing case."  

The family has now moved to a different e-commerce platform to support the site, selling a more limited selection of beanies, T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs. The brand also finds itself in a conflict with a model who says she didn't give the family permission to use her likeness. 

"I am an avid and passionate supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and I'm in shock and disgust that my image and likeness is being used for this dishonorable cause," the model, who chose to keep her identity private, said. 

The brand shows Rittenhouse as a relatable figure and “an honorable person who was forced to shoot people in a matter of self-defense," Tim Calkins, a brand-marketing expert at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, said.

“As a result, he represents all the good things about our country, such as taking responsibility and standing up for what is right,” Calkins said. “Brands play a very powerful role in defining who we are. That is true whether we wear a Patagonia jacket or a ‘Free Kyle’ T-shirt.”

Rittenhouse was arrested in Illinois and extradited to Wisconsin after the shooting in Kenosha. The teen has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide in the deaths of Huber and Rosenbaum. He's also been charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide for allegedly injuring Gaige Grosskreutz. Lastly, he's charged with possession of a dangerous weapon while under the age of 18 and two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.