Kyle Rittenhouse, the young man who killed two people during protests for racial justice in the United States, was acquitted this Friday of all charges.
In August 2020, Rittenhouse decided to go armed to Kenosha , Wisconsin, to help police control the demonstrations that broke out after African-American Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by a police officer during an attempted arrest.
Rittenhouse, of 18 years, he killed two men and wounded another.
During the process, followed with much attention in the United States because it was also seen as a trial of armed civilians who decide to take on police work on their own, his defense said that the young man feared for his life and that he acted in legitimate defense.
In the arg At the end of the day, his lawyers said that he was “trying to help his community” and that he “reacted to people’s attack.”
The Prosecutor’s Office alleged that Rittenhouse went to Kenosha armed looking for trouble. “You cannot claim legitimate defense against a danger that you created yourself,” said prosecutors, who questioned that Rittenhouse skipped the curfew in a city where he did not live and that he “intended to protect” property and people he did not live in. knew.
The case is back to ignite the polarized political debate on the use of weapons and the scope of legitimate defense.
The National Guard has been deployed in Kenosha in fear of possible disturbances following the decision of the 18 members of the jury.
Rittenhouse se faced five charges, including intentional homicide, which carries life imprisonment.
Some see him as a hero trying to keep the peace at a time of protests that in some cases turned violent in a hot summer of 2020 in the United States following death at the hands of the police of several African Americans.
Others saw him as an armed young man who self-attributed police functions in a very volatile scenario.
Reactions
After the verdict, Rittenhouse defense attorney Mark Richards said his client “wants to get on with his life.”
“He wishes none of this had happened. But, like he said when he testified, he didn’t start it, ”he noted.
Rittenhouse is now in a a reserved location , a spokesman for his family told CBS.
“In this whole situation there is no winners, there are two people who lost their lives and that does not escape us at all ”, they said.
The correspondent of the BBC in court, Nomia Iqbal , said that, after the verdict was known, several cars passed the building and shouted “Freedom for Kyle” and “We love the Second Amendment ”to the Constitution, referring to Americans’ right to own guns.
Meanwhile, a small number of protesters gathered outside the courthouse with signs reading“ Kyle Killer ” and “Without justice there is no peace.”
On the steps of the court, the uncle of Jacob Blake , with tears, said that he was surprised for the verdict, and said if Rittenh ouse had been a young black man, “the police would have shot him.”
Armed with a semiautomatic rifle, Rittenhouse fired and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, from 36 years, and Anthony Huber, of 26, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, of 27. The three victims were white.
Huber’s parents expressed in a statement that there had been no justice.
The acquittal “sends an unacceptable message that armed civilians can appear in a city, incite violence and then use the danger that they have created to justify shooting people in the street ”, they lamented.
Derrick Johnson, president of the civil rights organization NAACP, tweeted that the verdict “is a reminder of the treacherous role that white supremacy and privilege play within our justice system.”
Prominent civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton said the “scandalous and dangerous” verdict will encourage vigilantes to use violence to assert their power.
“It is These are still dark days for African Americans killed by people who believe our lives don’t matter, ”he said in a statement.
There are also concerns about the legal precedents that the verdict could establish for future cases.
Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor, African American Mandela Barnes , reacted angrily.
“During the last weeks many feared the result that has finally been achieved,” said Barnes, who criticized that even the judge defended Rittenhouse’s innocence.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers , was less critical and said he is not time for division.
“I have seen the pain and frustration of many,” Evers expressed on Twitter and admitted that no verdict can heal the wounds. “It is time to look forward, together… And build the future we want for our state.”
Republican Senator from Wisconsin Ron Johnson celebrated the decision.
“Justice was served,” he said according to the AFP agency. “I hope everyone can accept the verdict, that there is peace and that Kenosha can heal and rebuild.”
President Joe Biden said he respects the acquittal.
“Although the verdict will leave many Americans angry and worried , including me, we must admit that the jury has spoken, “he said in a statement, in which he also asked people to” express their opinions peacefully in accordance with the law. “
“Violence and destruction of property have no place in our democracy,” he added in anticipation of riots and protests over the verdict.
Lawyers for the Grosskreutz family also called for calm.
“What we need now is justice, not more violence,” they said in a statement.
Despite calls for peace, the police reported a riot in the city of Portland, Oregon, Friday night, after a 200 people smashed windows and threw objects.
There were also protests in Chicago and New York, but they were relatively discreet compared to the widespread civil unrest in the United States in 2020.
Obsession with the police
Rittenhouse is a young man obsessed with police and law enforcement, and with an affinity with vigilante militia groups.
He was a member of the Public Safety Cadet Program of the Grayslake Police Department, which offers young people the opportunity to travel with the police in their patrol cars and gives them training in the use of weapons.
On their Facebook page – which was deactivated after d e his arrest- Rittenhouse repeatedly praised the security forces, including a photo of him holding a long gun and framed with the “Blue Lives Matter” logo (“the lives of the blues – for the color of the police uniform – They matter ”) a movement that was generated in response to the“ Black Lives Matter ”(“ the lives of blacks matter ”), after the massacre of the African-American George Floyd.
In several of his comments on social networks, Rittenhouse paid tribute to fallen soldiers.
In one of his TikTok accounts (also canceled) he was seen in a video firing a semi-automatic rifle. According to the newspaper Chicago Tribune , the weapon appears to be identical to the one he was carrying the night when he got into Kenosha’s protests.
Kyle Rittenhouse resides in Antioch, Illinois, about 27 minutes drive from Kenosha.
The same night of the events, in an interview with the right-wing website Daily Caller , Rittenhouse said that what he did there was his “ job”. “There are people who get hurt” and “part of my job is to protect people,” he said.
In the Videos from that night showed him wandering the streets alone or alongside other self-proclaimed armed civilian protectors. The police passed them but, despite the fact that they were violating the curfew and that Rittenhouse was obviously too young to carry a semiautomatic rifle, they did not stop them.
What’s more, they were offered bottles of water and a police officer was heard saying in a video: “Thank you … Really.”
Now you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download the new version of our app and activate them so as not to miss our best content.