Kyle Rittenhouse (2003- ), a Blue Lives Matter supporter, killed two people and injured a third at a Black Lives Matter protest. That was on August 25th 2020 in the US in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He is now on trial for murder.
He was 17 at the time, from out-of-state (he is from Illinois, not Wisconsin), breaking curfew, and was armed with a Smith & Wesson M&P15, an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle. Both he and his victims (the judge does not allow them to be called “victims” at the trial) were all White.
The protests, which were sometimes violent (looting, arson), came after a White police officer shot a Black man in the back, Jacob Blake. He is now paralysed. This came in the wake of the George Floyd protests, the worst civil unrest in the US in over 50 years. Right-wing Fox News said the left was out of control. It called for “law and order”. In steps vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse, which Fox News will quickly make into something of a folk hero after killing two people.
Rittenhouse, in front of a boarded-up car dealership, some 15 minutes before he shoots three people, tells the Daily Caller:
“So, people are getting injured, and our job is to protect this business. Part of my job is also to help people. If there is somebody hurt, I’m running into harm’s way. That’s why I have my rifle, because I have to protect myself, obviously. I also have my med kit.”
The dealership had burned the night before, but did not ask for armed protection. That call came from the “Kenosha Guard”. White men with guns answer the call. Not illegal. In fact, the police tell them they “appreciate” them and offer them water.
The police push the protesters in the direction of the armed White men, Rittenhouse among them.
Rittenhouse kills:
- Joseph Rosenbaum, age 36 – chases Rittenhouse after Rittenhouse raises his gun at him. Rittenhouse hears a shot being fired and turns. Then: “I remember his hand on the barrel of my gun”. He shoots him dead. And then runs wildly, holding his gun, alarming people, then trips and falls. Then:
- Anthony Huber, age 26, hits RIttenhouse with a skateboard. When Huber tries to disarm him, Rittenhouse shoots him dead.
and he injures:
- Gaige Grosskreutz, age 27 – who Rittenhouse said pointed a pistol at him.
And then Rittenhouse walks right past the police. They are told he is the shooter, but do – nothing. (Compare Tamir Rice.)
Rittenhouse:
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself.”
“I didn’t know if it was going to kill them but I used deadly force to stop the threat that was attacking me.”
He feared for his life.
Yet, strangely, he is the only person who killed anyone at the Kenosha protests.
At trial Rittenhouse cried on the witness stand. No tears detected.
His lawyers argue self-defence. And successfully argued that it was legal for him to own a semi-automatic rifle despite being under 18 – because the barrel was over 16 inches (40.6 cm).
The prosecution:
“You cannot claim self-defence against a danger that you create.”
It is now up to the (95% White) jury.
– Abagond, 2021.
Update (November 19th): Rittenhouse has been found NOT GUILTY on all charges.
See also:
- Jacob Blake
- Tamir Rice
- The George Floyd protests
- Fox News
- racist dog whistle – “law and order” and such
- lives mattering:
- Blue Lives Matter
- Black Lives Matter
- All Lives Matter
Abagond 
How is it disputed that he pointed his gun at Rittenhouse? He admitted it under testimony. He later said that he did not intend to point his gun but he pointed it nonetheless.
From AP https://apnews.com/article/kyle-rittenhouse-wisconsin-shootings-george-floyd-homicide-cbd8653c42406417c2d3d8559632e3bb
“But during cross-examination, Rittenhouse defense attorney Corey Chirafisi asked: “It wasn’t until you pointed your gun at him, advanced on him … that he fired, right?”
“Correct,” Grosskreutz replied. The defense also presented a photo showing Grosskreutz pointing the gun at Rittenhouse, who was on the ground with his rifle pointed up at Grosskreutz.
Grosskreutz, under follow-up questioning from the prosecutor, said he did not intend to point his weapon at Rittenhouse.”
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@ eick74
My mistake. Thank you.
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“…Rittenhouse cried on the witness stand. No tears detected.”
Hmm. White men’s (non)tears.
Do crocodiles cry?
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This is what it looks like
When Crocs cry.
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Sadly, I fear this case (and very likely the McMichaels / Bryan cases) will end up not-guilty. The actual moment of killing can be argued as self defense in these, just as it was in Trayvon Martin’s. The fact that a racist individual can engineer a situation that creates a life-or-death situation for both parties only to claim self-defense if they’re the one that survives the encounter is insane to me. But, it often seems to go that way. The fact the jury asked to review the videos speaks to the fact they’re looking at the technical aspects of the actual shooting events rather than considering the bigger picture of Rittenhouse inserting himself into and escalating situations to the point where he feared for his life.
Also, this fool’s tearless “crying” outburst was as ridiculous as Amber Guyger! At least she’s still doing time and losing on appeal.
How about the weapons charge being dismissed because kids are only prohibited from carrying firearms if they’re not in compliance with any other statute at the time?!? In other words, since his weapon was of sufficient length to be in compliance with their “hunting and use of firearms by persons under 16 years of age” law (even though he was over 16 but apparently there’s precedent that extends it to 16 & 17 year olds) the judge tossed it. So, I guess kids can be running around with rifles wherever they want in Wisconsin now.
Can you just see a bunch of teenagers staging an armed protest at the courthouse? Judge say’s it’s all good.
Sorry… rant over.
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Update: Rittenhouse has been found NOT GUILTY on all charges.
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Sad day today. Now that punk is out without serving any time. Tells me that whites get away with murder and they project their evil on Black folks. This is an outrage!
Reynagirl
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When will they do something about this kind of white on white crime?
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Hey Abagond, I doubt you’ll publish this comment because it disclosed facts you clearly find unpalatable:
The video evidence proves the two men who were shot chased Rittenhouse, and that Rittenhouse was defending himself.
The two (white) men shot were known violent criminals. Rosenbaum was convicted of raping five boys aged 9-11. Huber was a convicted domestic violence abuser.
You won’t publish this. It doesn’t fit with your narrative.
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HOORAY!! KYLE IS FREE!!! Americans no longer have to listen to stupid BLMers. Wokeness is evil and we are DONE listening to you or caring about you!!! Act up again and we won’t be so nice!!!
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No more blocking traffic, no more burning down buildings, no more broken windows, no more stupid social media posts, no more yelling at people in restaurants, no more taking down statues, no more whining, no more complaining…ENOUGH!!! Normal people are SICK and TIRED of the woke freak show! SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!
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@ Truth Teller
I did not bring up their pasts because a) Rittenhouse did not know it and b) even if he did it hardly justifies killing them. He is not judge, jury and executioner.
Demonizing the victims of violence is a standard right-wing tactic. Talk about narratives! Your comment sounds like regurgitated Fox News.
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Random thoughts on the “vigilante hero”
— This man is too young almost a boy; Jesus, at this age what brought him to do this, to kill people? what enrages him? or was it an adrenaline driven act? he wanted to bring to life dreams coming from the practice of video games?
— Pardon people but I think that, yes, he feared for his life at that deadly event that night; I believe him more than I believe the men in blue who usually say the same when killing civilians; remember that he was almost hit by one of the guys who was following him; it was a true act of self-defense; but…
— … maybe the next time a thief inserts himself in my house I should not threat him with a stick or knife because then he will have the right to “fear for his life” and shot me with his pistol and yet be right from the point of view of justice! my bad!
— Anyway, I suspect that our vigilante hero right now must be thinking that “never again to repeat the same act because it was so dangerous this time” both on the field that night and later on court with the permanent menace of a condemnation (don’t forget the tears!);
— When I saw his picture first time, I was thinking that he was like a resurrected Che Guevara, but this time on the opposite end of the ideological spectrum, wow, so brave and resolute!
— Despite his age he is far more mature than any other recent right wing killer who left some lengthy and insane justification for killing people; at least he was on a noble mission to defend property, help the police and try to maintain at bay the arsonists and other bad guys; he is truly a rational mind bent on protect civilization, law and order!
— And what about the so called victims? Luckily they were all White, otherwise Blacks would inflame the all situation and came again to the streets, if not even forcing a different outcome from the court; remember, Whites civilians are more expendable than Black ones… remember…
End of rant.
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Kyle Rittenhouse had to deal with a rioting mob, couldn’t count on the help of the police, and he risked (and got) the condemnation of a large part of the American population. It can be said that Rittenhouse showed more courage than most people.
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“Kyle Rittenhouse
hadchose to deal with a…”But for his actions, everyone would have survived the night. He protected nobody but himself and he didn’t need to be there.
“It can be said that Rittenhouse showed more courage than most people.
It can also be said that he had delusions of grandeur along with a savior complex and got everything he dreamed of that night.
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Kyle Rittenhouse didn’t “have to deal with a rioting mob”. As Open Minded Observer highlighted in his comment, Rittenhouse chose to jump into the middle of a melee that had nothing to do with him.
Rittenhouse did so while a minor, armed with automatic weapons and across state lines.
Perhaps if Rittenhouse had better parenting, he would have been home that night playing Halo on his Xbox instead of running around a strange town brandishing weapons and looking for someone to kill.
More about the Rittenhouse family:
https://heavy.com/news/kyle-rittenhouse-family/
Contrast this case with the case of a six year old Black girl who was arrested for having a tantrum at school in 2020. In that case (and others like it) Black minor children are treated as hardened adult criminals and their parents vilified as “bad parents” or “unfit”.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/25/florida-six-year-old-arrested-school-tantrum
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Rittenhouse shot three white men who were attacking him. The first attacked him as he was walking down the street yelling “friendly”. Earlier that day he spent hours cleaning graffiti and that night he put out a dumpster that was on fire and being pushed toward a gas station by Rosenbaum, the first person to attack him. Rittenhouse did not travel from out of state the day he shot those guys. He was there the day before to be at his job in Kenosha, where half of his family lived. Rosenbaum told Rittenhouse that he would kill Rittenhouse if they were alone. Rosenbaum was also screaming racial profanities as he demanded that someone shoot him. All of this is on video and somehow Rosenbaum is still treated as an ally.
In comparison, the white men who shot Arbery, a black man, were rightfully convicted of murder. There’s not much of a double standard in the court system when looking at these two cases. The video evidence in both cases pretty clearly show RIttenhouse defended himself from attackers he did not provoke in any way except for his existing while Arbery was murdered for existing. The true connection should be seen between Rittenhouse and Arbery. The takeaway should be that gun ownership can save your life and that if race is your only lens, you are missing out on a good chunk of reality.
I noticed that as of December 7, 2021, Abagond hasn’t commented on Darrell Brooks, the black man who is alleged to have deliberately driven his SUV through a parade of innocent people, killing dancing grannies and children alike. If there’s a double standard, it’s that people will carry water for mass murderers that fit a profile while deriding innocent people that fit a different profile. Darrell Brooks had a social media profile full of hate. Don’t forget that.
Anyway, this is a lost cause because we’re at the point that BLM supporters will take the side of a white convicted child rapist who screams the N-word, over an innocent person who likes Trump. If that’s you, check which side of history you are on.
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Abagond said
“At trial Rittenhouse cried on the witness stand. No tears detected.”
Afroem said:
Hmm. White men’s (non)tears.
So which one of you is Lebron James…. 😉
Well he also cried when after the not guilt verdict was announced, so I am inclined to think neither crying episode was fake.
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“Rosenbaum was also screaming racial profanities as he demanded that someone shoot him”
Since this was White on White crime, who were the “racial profanities” directed toward?
Do you have a video link?
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“The takeaway should be that gun ownership can save your life…”
Gun ownership is needlessly taking the lives of Americans every day. There is a steady drip, drip, drip of mass murders reported on the daily news. It has gotten so bad that Congressional Republicans no longer bother with White men’s (non)tears. And they are the ultimate crocodiles!
This is the state of affairs constructed by the Supreme Court, ALEC (The American Legislative Exchange Council) and the NRA (National Rifle Association).
The plan is working as intended. White men and boys clutching guns and spouting nonsense about “gun ownership” saving lives. Clutch guns, feel the power and declare “I’m still White by golly”!
Guns and pro-gun propaganda have been a perfect diversion for White people terrified of lowered standards of living, lowered life expectancies, family wage jobs shipped overseas by their wealthier cousins and demographic change.
Yet, I wonder what will be the bridge too far. I’ve seen little White children from an affluent community (Sandy Hook) murdered by gun crazed White man and nothing was done about it.
Since then, I’ve seen Americans murdered in once unthinkable (formerly safe) places: churches, grocery stores, movie theaters and schools.
Seeing this orgy of violence on a daily basis, I’m reminded of two comments I’ve heard over the years. One was from an acquaintance of mine. He said people barely notice laws when they are passed, only when they affect them personally.
The second comment was from my father one Saturday afternoon. My siblings and I were looking at a 1950s era monster movie. It was the part of the movie where the scientists call the military for help in battling the alien monsters.
My father looked up from his reading, glanced at the television and said,
“White people always think they can solve their problems by shooting at them.”
When will wanton gun violence (and the industrial complex that keeps it going) personally affect enough Americans that they put a stop to the slaughter of innocents?
When will the sane majority stop the insane minority of gun worshippers who believe they can solve their problems by shooting at them?
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Afrofrem:
“Since this was White on White crime, who were the “racial profanities” directed toward?”
Not sure but I am pretty sure it was not towards BLM people.
“Do you have a video link?”
Joseph Rosenbaum was pretty unstable, apparently many of the BLM people were avoiding him that night due to his frequent use of racial slurs and aggressive behavior. His fiancé had asked him not to go out because he had run out of his medication to treat his bipolar disorder.
https://www.wisconsinrightnow.com/2021/03/11/joseph-rosenbaum-sex-offender/
https://heavy.com/news/joseph-rosenbaum/
From the Heavy article above:
“In a lengthy profile of Rosenbaum, The Washington Post said that he didn’t “belong to either side” of the protests and riots. It was his second suicide attempt in a month, the newspaper reported, adding that the bag carried a “deodorant stick, underwear and sock,” and noting that Rosenbaum had never attended a protest and was at the scene “almost by accident.”
Testimony indicated he tried to get his bipolar medication prescription filled that day but the pharmacy was closed due to the arson fires and unrest.”
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We already have a huge problem in this nation with how the police treat people with mental problems. A high percentage of unarmed people killed by the police have diagnosed mental conditions. The police also tend to kill suicidal individuals who are armed with any sharp object, no matter how small. Almost all of these killings are unnecessary and stem from police officers not being trained in how to properly handle individuals in mental distress, as well as the cops’ prejudices and misconceptions about people with mental illnesses.
I would actually say this is a good argument for decreasing the number of guns on the streets. The average civilian is going to be even less informed about these issues than the cops and more likely to panic. If that average civilian has a gun, when they panic, they will use it — instead of calling 911 or taking nonviolent measures to de-escalate the situation. Yes, the videos show that Rosenbaum was harassing various armed militia members that night — not just Rittenhouse — and acting erratically. But the militia members are on video as well choosing to engage with him in heated verbal confrontations and threatening physical posturing instead of remaining calm and attempting to de-escalate.
We also have a huge problem with our medical system. In a nation with universal health care, Rosenbaum would never have been released from a psychiatric ward without a refill of his meds.
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So Rittenhouse, Huber, Rosenbaum and Grosskreutz were all a place where they did not need to be. They were all attracted to disorder.
They were all reveling in a melee–with guns. They jumped in the middle of an unstable situation and contributed to heightened tensions.
They were all racists on a mission.
Yet, when the media repeats “violent protests” rhetoric and footage, they rarely show these heavily armed Euro-American vigilantes. If Rittenhouse had not killed Huber and Rosenbaum (and gotten away with it), few people would have known of this element on the streets of Kenosha, WI.
Instead, the actions of some Black people are highlighted and excoriated in endless media loops. The entire Black community of Kenosha is held accountable for the actions of a few. The actions of White gun worshippers drawn to disorder are downplayed or invisible.
I noticed in television news reports at the time, White store owners and White city officials dominated available airtime, but few, if any Black Lives Matter protesters were given a chance to speak. They were rendered mute by the media.
The same media that prefers to depict all Black protests as “violent” even if they’re not and all Black protesters as an unthinking mob.
Par for the course.
Armed White people accosting one another and yelling anti-Black “racial profanities” is a non-issue.
All of them hijacked a protest that had nothing to do with them. They all should have been home playing video games or bingeing on Netflix, not acting out violent fantasies on the street of Kenosha.
When you run with the bulls, you risk being gored.
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Patriot J bills himself as a:
“Grifty Award Winning Rap Artist, Legal Reporter @BreitbartNews, President of the Coonluminati”
In other words he is a Black Trump supporter who makes his money by putting other Black people down, telling White people what they want to hear and selling overpriced merchandise on his website.
A low rent con artist profiting from Professor Derrick Bell’s Five Rules of Racial Standing.
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2011/10/29/the-five-rules-of-racial-standing/
Clearly and lucratively.
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To Afrofem:
You asked of Joe:
“Do you have a video link?”
(Regarding Rosenbaum’s use of N-word)
“Patriot J..”
I didn’t know who he was.. in a Google search that was first relatively short clip of Rosenbaum spouting the N-word.. the clip is accurate and you can find other examples.. Regarding Patriot J’s assessment of Rosenbaum as being racist?
Who knows, while the use of the N-word was highly inappropriate.. Joseph Rosenbaum was unstable, hadn’t taken his medication, and had an ugly police record (Multiple counts of child rape). It looked like he was spoiling for a fight that had little if anything to do with the BLM cause.
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I see someone already shared the video clip of what Rosenbaum was saying. He was mentally unstable, insufficiently medicated, and recently released from from a mental health institution. All that tells us is that it’s all the more likely that the entire set of events resulting in three people getting shot was precipitated by his instability and aligns perfectly with the jury finding Rittenhouse not guilty. What is there to say? A mentally ill person violently attacked a guy with a gun and got shot. Then several more people attacked the guy with the gun and got shot as well.
Speaking of gun ownership. Here’s an article from CNN.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/23/us/black-gun-owners-sales-rising/index.html
“Customers are increasingly diverse. Surveys last year showed a 58% increase of African American gun buyers in 2020 compared to 2019, NSSF spokesman Mark Oliva told CNN, more than any other racial group.”
I think it is nothing but good news when more law abiding citizens are buying guns. Black Americans exercising their second amendment rights is a good thing. The overwhelming majority of gun crimes are committed with illegal hand guns. And yet, the new DA of New York City is looking to prosecute fewer criminals. Black Americans are gong to need those legally owned guns because no one else is going to help them.
https://nypost.com/2022/01/04/manhattan-da-alvin-bragg-to-stop-seeking-prison-in-some-cases/
Who is to blame for gun deaths: the lawful gun owners or the criminals and the politicians who enable them?
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