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Kyle Rittenhouse, accused of killing two people and injuring a third during anti-racism protests in August 2020 in Kenosha, United States, was acquitted on Friday. Faced with the anger of many Americans, Joe Biden called for calm. At the request of the Governor of Wisconsin, the National Guard stands ready to respond to Kenosha in the event of overflows.
The young American Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot dead two people and injured a third on the sidelines of anti-racist protests in August 2020 in Kenosha, was acquitted on Friday, November 19, after a well-attended trial in the United States .
Twelve jurors in a Wisconsin state court declared him “not guilty” of all five charges against him, including murders, on the fourth day of their deliberations.
The 18-year-old white man, who faced life imprisonment, had pleaded self-defense. Upon reading the verdict, he broke down in tears before quickly leaving the courtroom.
His trial exposed American society’s fractures over guns, the right to self-defense, and the anti-racist movement Black Lives Matter (Black Lives Matter), and the verdict has, unsurprisingly, prompted reactions to antipodes.
New York Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted a “denial of justice”, while Republican Congresswoman Mary Miller tweeted: “God bless America”.
To avoid possible overflows, the governor of Wisconsin has asked 500 National Guard soldiers to stand ready to intervene in Kenosha.
For his part, US President Joe Biden called for calm. The verdict “has plunged many Americans into anger and concern, including me,” he wrote in a statement, before however clarifying: “I call on everyone to express their opinions peacefully, in respect for the law. “
While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken. My full statement: https://t.co/mx51kR6ZUh
President Biden (@POTUS) November 19, 2021
In front of the court, only a handful of people expressed their disgust: “guilty, guilty, the system is devilishly guilty”, they chanted. “It’s a sad day for America,” Will Diaz, a 44-year-old worker, told AFP.
“Tourist of chaos”
On August 23, 2020, this city in the Great Lakes region was set on fire after a police blunder against an African-American.
Then aged 17, Kyle Rittenhouse had equipped himself with a semi-automatic rifle and had joined armed groups who had come to “protect” the businesses. Under confusing circumstances, he opened fire, killing two men and wounding a third.
“I did nothing wrong, I just defended myself”, he pleaded, in tears, during his trial, assuring to have fired after being chased and attacked by these three men – all white like him.
The accused was “a tourist of chaos” who “sought excitement” and “voluntarily and knowingly put himself in a dangerous situation,” retorted prosecutor Thomas Binger in his indictment.
Kyle Rittenhouse appeared free, supporters having paid the $ 2 million bail.
The young man has indeed become a muse in certain right-wing circles for whom the great mobilization against police violence in the summer of 2020 was the work of “antifas” or “anarchists”.
Conversely, on the left, he embodies the excesses of the culture of arms and the right to self-defense.
On Twitter, the Black Lives Matter movement stressed that it was not surprised by the verdict. “The system works exactly as it’s supposed to (…) to protect white supremacy.”
“It illustrates the urgent need for reform of the justice system and of our broken penal system,” added Shaadie Ali, a representative of the powerful civil rights organization ACLU.
“Two-speed justice”
“That a teenager can (…) shoot three people, killing two, without any criminal consequences is a denial of justice,” said Shannon Watts, founder of the Moms group demand action. “It is also America that the NRA has created,” she added, referring to the powerful arms lobby National Rifle Association which campaigns for an unlimited right to carry weapons.
Among the advocates of the African-American community, the bitterness was just as palpable.
“This is a new example of two-speed justice at work in America,” said lawyer Ben Crump, who has defended many victims of police violence and their families. If Kyle Rittenhouse “had been black, the debates and their outcome would have been very different,” he said.
“We have just witnessed the validation of terrorist acts by a system built on white supremacy,” added Colin Kaepernick, the former American football star known for kneeling during the national anthem in solidarity with the African Americans killed by police.
With AFP
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