Rittenhouse Walks Free

KENOSHA, Wis. – Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old who killed two people and injured another last year, has been found not guilty from all charges in a criminal trial that has society troubled about disturbance at racial justice protests and gun rights. 

Rittenhouse was facing first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree intentional homicide, but after the jury deliberated for more than 24 hours, they accepted Rittenhouse’s reaction was in self-defense. Prior to the jury’s decision, Rittenhouse testified saying that the two men were attacking him and with no choice but to shoot them. He also indicated that he went to Kenosha to provide protection and first aid. 

Following the death of Jacob Blake, a Black man, killed by a white Kenosha police officer, the unrest continued out of control. In a sequence of disorganized confrontations with protesters, reported intensely by videos and photos, Rittenhouse shot and killed Anthony Huber, 26, Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 26. 

After the shootings, the nation recognized Rittenhouse as a national symbol. For example, some Americans thought it was shocking to see an underaged teenager walking with a military-style rifle during racial justice events, a reminder of the length of open carry regulations in the United States. While others felt the young man was trying to maintain peace during the destructive protests. 

Kim Raia, a retired 911 dispatcher from The Glenview Public Safety Department, believes justice prevailed regardless of the treatment Rittenhouse is receiving in the press and on social media. 

“He was presumed guilty based on the footage shown then during the trial prosecution they used the arguments as a personal attack on the kid instead of trying to do their job based on the law,” Raia said. “His reasons for having the gun and why he was there could not be an argument to convict him.” 

Marshal Diep is a criminal justice student at Hope College and he described the trial “the definition of white power.” He stated that Rittenhouse put himself in that position because he was carrying a deadly weapon in a risky environment. 

“Everyone has the right to own a gun but it’s unjust to go without charges for taking another life,” Diep said. “What I find wrong was the fact that he came all the way from Antioch and carried a gun that wasn’t his own.” 

However, Rittenhouse did not have to prove that he reacted in self-defense because according to Wisconsin law, the state must demonstrate that he did not. Due to the circumstances of this act, self-defense analysis is one reason people can bypass responsibility for homicides because Wisconsin law can allow a person to provoke an assault and still call it self-defense.

The case has divided the country, and political leaders and others spoke out to the public about the approach of self-defense versus the criminal justice system. 

The White House released a statement from President Biden saying the verdict “will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, but we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken.” Biden also urged demonstrators to refrain from violence and said he reached out to Wisconsin’s governor to provide “support and any assistance needed to ensure public safety.” 

Another political figure that spoke about Rittenhouse was Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, a black democratic candidate for U.S. Senate criticized the outcome. He declared “the presumption of innocence until proven guilty is what we should expect from our judicial system, but that standard is not always applied equally.” 

The Kenosha County District expressed their disappointment with the verdict but respect the results. They also asked members of the community to continue to share their feelings and opinions in a civil manner.