The twelve jurors found Rittenhouse, an 18-year-old white youth, “not guilty” of all five charges against him, including murder.
The young American Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two people with a semiautomatic rifle and wounded a third on the sidelines of anti-racist demonstrations in August 2020 in the state of Wisconsin, was acquitted this Friday at the close of a trial that revealed the existing fractures in the country on firearms and the Black Lives Matter movement.
The twelve jurors found Rittenhouse, an 18-year-old white youth, “not guilty” of the five charges against him, including murder, on the fourth day of their deliberations.
Rittenhouse, what if faced a life sentenceHe claimed to have acted in self-defense.
As the verdict was read, he sobbed before quickly leaving the courtroom.
Shouts of joy from Rittenhouse supporters were heard outside the compound.
The American President, the Democrat Joe Biden told himself “worried and angry.” But, in a statement, he asked the Americans to respect the court’s decision. “I call on everyone to express their opinions peacefully, respecting the laws.”
As a precautionary measure, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers asked 500 National Guard soldiers to be ready to intervene. Biden offered the backing of the federal forces.
A handful of people expressed their outrage in court. “Guilty, guilty, the system is doubly guilty,” they shouted. “It is a sad day for the United States,” Will Díaz, a 44-year-old worker, told AFP.
“Tourist of chaos”
On August 23, 2020, this city in the Great Lakes region was the scene of riots after cops seriously wounded a young black man, Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back during an attempted arrest.
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, equipped himself with a semiautomatic rifle and joined armed groups claiming to act to “protect” businesses.
In confusing circumstances, he opened fire, killing two men and wounding a third.
“I did nothing wrong, I just defended myself,” said the young man sobbing during the trial, and assured that he fired after being pursued and attacked by the three men, also white.
The defendant was “a tourist out of chaos” who “sought arousal” and “willingly and consciously put himself in a dangerous situation,” prosecutor Thomas Binger replied in his indictment.
During the two weeks that the trial lasted, Rittenhouse appeared free, after his relatives posted a bond of two million dollars.
The young man has become a reference for right-wing circles according to which the great mobilization against police violence in the summer of 2020 was the work of “anti-fascists” or “anarchists.”
Thus, he has been described as a “hero” by the ultra-conservative media and, on Friday, several Republican legislators hailed his release. “Justice was served,” Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson tweeted.
On the contrary, on the left, he embodies the excesses of the culture of arms and the right to self-defense.
Reminder: the system is working exactly as it is meant to. The system was always meant to protect and uphold white supremacy.
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) November 19, 2021
On Twitter, the Black Lives Matter movement noted that it was not surprised by the verdict: “The system works exactly as it is supposed to (…) to protect white supremacy.”
“For a teenager to be able to shoot three people, killing two, without criminal consequences is a denial of justice,” said Shannon Watts, founder of the action group Moms demand.
“This is also the United States that has created the NRA,” he said, referring to the powerful arms lobby of the National Rifle Association, which campaigns for the unlimited right to carry weapons. (I)
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