The person who is alleged to have killed two people and injured another during the protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin following the killing of yet another unarmed black man by police, has been identified.
The law enforcement–obsessed 17-year-old who was charged with shooting and killing two people and injuring another in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during protests for Jacob Blake appeared in the front row at a Donald Trump rally in January.
Kyle Howard Rittenhouse’s social media presence is filled with him posing with weapons, posting “Blue Lives Matter,” and supporting Trump for president. Footage from the Des Moines, Iowa, rally on Jan. 30 shows Rittenhouse feet away from the president, in the front row, to the left of the podium. He posted a TikTok video from the event.
Seven months later, Rittenhouse went with his rifle to the third night of Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha after police shot Blake, a Black man who is now paralyzed as a result, according to his family. Rittenhouse attended as an armed vigilante, supposedly assisting police and protecting property in an unofficial capacity. Instead, he allegedly prowled the protest with a gun. Videos captured him fraternizing with law enforcement and attempting to get their attention.
…A close look at his social media accounts and background show a teenager obsessed with law enforcement who also identified as a strong supporter of President Donald Trump and “Blue Lives Matter,” a pro–law enforcement movement that evolved in response to Black Lives Matter.
Of course, the Trump campaign is trying to distance themselves from him.
In a statement to BuzzFeed News on Wednesday, Trump 2020 campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh said, “President Trump has repeatedly and consistently condemned all forms of violence and believes we must protect all Americans from chaos and lawlessness. This individual had nothing to do with our campaign and we fully support our fantastic law enforcement for their swift action in this case.”
But there can be little doubt that he thought he was doing this is support of Trump who has been condemning the protests, praising the police, and demanding that harsh measures be taken against the protestors. Trump is the kind of coward who uses incendiary rhetoric to inflame others to act on his behalf and then tries to play innocent.
17-year-old
Where did he get the rifle? The “law and order” faction appear to be ignoring the fact that it may have been a crime simply for him to be carrying the damn thing.
Marcus, he shot those people in self-defense!
While he illegally carried a gun across state lines and to a protest he had no training to handle.
But self-defense!
@Marcus Ranum(#1):
Wisconsin seems to have a loophole for 16 & 17 year olds to open carry rifles and shotguns owned by a 21+ who is with them for hunting.
That is enough fig leaf to get away with not arresting him to drag for a judge for sentencing. We thought he was with that guy over there maybe we should have asked.
@Tabby Lavalamp(#2):
That is exactly what his defenders are claiming. That he had no choice but to fire into the crowd to defend himself. They seem to conveniently (at least from what I have found in footage) ignore that that crowd tried to get him after he started shooting.
There is a reason he is getting charged with intentional homicide, a charge which most likely plea bargained down since that would mean sticking him in jail till he dies (if convicted).
OK.
Now what was he hunting in downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin in the middle of the night?
Black people?
Leftists?
Liberals?
I hope I don’t get reclassified from taxpayer to game animal.
He might well beat the rap.
It’s already happened twice, once in Seattle, once in Portland.
Xpost from Pharyngula.
He may very well beat the rap!!!
It’s already happened in Seattle.
At a Milo Yiannopoulos hate festival, a couple shot a protester in the torso and he almost died.
They were not arrested by the Seattle police.
Eventually they were arrested when evidence was found that they intended to go to the rally to shoot someone.
So what happened at their trial?
They beat the rap in a jury trial.
The shooter flat out lied and said the guy she shot had a knife.
It was a crowd scene and no one saw the knife because there wasn’t one.
@Raven(#5):
I did say it is a fig leaf for not putting him in jail based on the illegal carrying of a gun in public. Just assume the (registered) owner of the gun in close by and there is nothing they can do while he drags the rifle around in the open.
Your complaint about if, when, where or what he was hunting is irrelevant; At least for this law and associated loophole. Quite possibly the intent really was to allow a parent to drag their kid to the forest and let them shoot stuff but the way it is worded is, from what I read, if not 21 or older, have the owner of the rifle/shotgun nearby while not carrying the weapon concealed.
And why would lawmakers go out of their way to specify that it cannot be used to hunt/shoot humans in it or other limitations? There are already more general laws that address murder or limitations on where people are allowed to carry guns (Wisconsin for example has school exclusion zones).
Which is why, from what I read, he is looking at a mandatory life behind bar sentence if convicted.
https://songmeanings.com/m/songs/view/3530822107858577667/
Rittenhouse lives in Illinois. He crossed the state line into Wisconsin with his weapon. I would say he entered Wisconsin with the intent to shoot someone. First Degree Murder, period.
@johnson(#9):
Sorry to burst your bubble but crossing the border while carrying a non legal gun is another crime. Same as him dragging it across Wisconsin. They should charge him for those as well but most likely won’t. What they can’t do is elevate the category of another crime, or increase the punishment in a category if not spelled out in the sentencing guidelines, unless there is a straight confession of intent, as in on paper/computer dated from before he started moving or him making that confession during interrogation with a lawyer present.
The ‘good’ news is that what is available hints that he’ll get the highest category for the first murder, called first degree intentional homicide in Wisconsin. The other murder is hinted at to be charged as reckless homicide.
But that is what is suggested through the documents available they haven’t brought out the charges yet. And charges will be lowered if he accepts a plea bargain instead of risking a full trial. I do expect him to take the full trial though thinking he to get away with murder for reasons similar to what Raven in #6 outlined.
So now the reich wing have moved from “self defense,” to “they had it coming.” I don’t believe their claims, given the source, and in any case the killer kid had know way to know the supposed justifications.