He won’t do as well as the kentucky kid did. That kid was exonerated simply by noticing that he was entirely passive throughout the event.
Rittenhouse did take actions that were open to interpretation. So, his detractors can always fall back on having the freedom to have personal opinions.
Sandman could not be construed as a public figure for purposes of defamation. All he did was stand quietly in a public place, where he had every right to be, waiting for his school bus. He did not become a public figure just because the lamestream media decided to pile on and defame him.
Most courts will probably find that Rittenhouse was either a limited use or involuntary public figure, and therefore subject to the Sullivan actual malice standard. Any chance that he would be found not to be a public figure went away when he started giving interviews.