The controversial acquittal in the US of the young man who killed two people during protests for racial justice

Kyle Rittenhouse, the young man who killed two people during racial justice protests in USA, 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 the African-American Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by a police officer during an attempted arrest.

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Rittenhouse, 18, killed two men and wounded another.

During the process, followed closely in the United States because it was also seen as a trial for armed civilians who decide to take on police work on their own, his defense said that the young man feared for his life and he acted in legitimate defense.

In closing arguments, his lawyers said that he “was trying to help his community” and that he “reacted to people’s attack.”

Image of an armed young man on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, identified by the media as Kyle Rittenhouse. (GETTY IMAGES).

The prosecution argued 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 in which he did not live and that he “intended to protect” property and people he did not live in. knew.

The case has reignited the polarized political debate over the use of weapons and the scope of self-defense.

The National Guard has been deployed to Kenosha in fear of possible disturbances following the decision of the 12 members of the jury.

Rittenhouse was facing five charges, including intentional murder, which carries a life sentence.

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 after several African-Americans were killed by police.

Others saw him as an armed young man who assumed police duties in a highly volatile setting.

Several protesters called for Rittenhouse’s conviction. (GETTY IMAGES)

Reactions

The BBC correspondent in court, Nomia Iqbal, said that, after the verdict was known, several cars passed by the building and shouted “Freedom for Kyle” and “We love the Second Amendment” of the Constitution, regarding the right of Americans to own weapons.

On the steps of the court, the uncle of Jacob BlakeHe tearfully said he was shocked by the verdict, saying that if Rittenhouse had been a young black man, “the police would have shot him.”

Armed with a semi-automatic rifle, Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27. All 3 victims were white.

Huber’s parents said in a statement that there had been no justice.

The acquittal “sends an unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in a city, incite violence and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street,” they lamented.

The Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, the African-American Mandela Barnes, he reacted angrily.

“During the last weeks many feared the result that has finally come,” said Barnes, who criticized even the judge upholding Rittenhouse’s innocence.

The Governor of Wisconsin, Tony EversHe was less critical and said that this is not the time for the division.

“I have seen the pain and frustration of many,” Evers tweeted, admitting that no verdict can heal 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 that everyone can accept the verdict, that there is peace and that Kenosha can heal and rebuild.”

President Joe Biden He said that 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.

Obsession with the police

Rittenhouse is a young man obsessed with police and law enforcement, and with an affinity for vigilante militia groups.

(GETTY IMAGES).

He was a member of the Grayslake Police Department’s Public Safety Cadet Program, which offers youth the opportunity to ride with police officers in their patrol cars and gives them training in the use of weapons.

On his Facebook page – which was deactivated after 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. blue – because of the color of the police uniform – matter “) a movement that was generated in response to that of” Black Lives Matter “(” the lives of blacks matter “), after the massacre of the Afro-American George Floyd.

In several of his comments on social media, Rittenhouse paid tribute to fallen uniforms.

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 the Kenosha protests.

Kyle Rittenhouse resides in Antioch, Illinois, about a 30-minute drive from Kenosha.

Young man identified as Kyle Rittenhouse pointing a semiautomatic rifle. (Getty Images).

The very 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 of that night, he was seen 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 is heard saying in a video: “Thank you … Really.”

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