The Kyle Rittenhouse Case
August 25, 2021, during the day, peaceful protests were demonstrated in Kenosha. However, as the night crept in, chaos arose. Protesters and police faced off that night. The city suffered a significant amount of damage, striking the attention of the media. Left-wing activists and right-wing militia crowded the streets despite the city's curfew. About 250 national guard members join the streets. In addition, there were members of the Boogaloo Boys and a biker crew who were right-winged militia that carried bats, hatchets, and firearms. These groups were gathered around gas stations and car lots that had been badly damaged the night before. Car Source went through 1.5 million dollars in damage during the previous night. The shooting had taken place before midnight after the police had moved protesters out of the Civic Center Park. Rittenhouse did not live in Kenosha, so he drove from Antioch, Illinois, to his friend Dominick Black’s house to stay the night. The following day Rittenhouse and Black armed up with rifles and went to Car Source. The dealership’s owner's son claims they never called upon Rittenhouse and Black’s help.
Rittenhouse’s first victim was Joseph Rosenbaum. The first confrontation between the two occurred when Rosenbaum and other protesters moved toward Rittenhouse. Rosenbaum tried to interact with Rittenhouse, but Rittenhouse attempted to evade him. Rittenhouse claimed that Rosenbaum threatened to kill him. During the confrontation, Rosenbaum threw a plastic bag at Rittenhouse. The plastic bag contained socks, underwear, and a stick of deodorant. Joshua Ziminski, a friend of Rittenhouse, fired a warning shot into the air. Rittenhouse then stopped running and pointed the gun towards the sound of Ziminski’s gunshot. Rittenhouse claimed that he heard a bystander tell Rosenbaum to “get him and kill him.” but Rittenhouse also knew that Rosenbaum had no weapon. Rittenhouse claims he aimed his gun at Rosenbaum to prevent him from walking further. Witnesses testify that Rosenbaum tried to disarm Rittenhouse. 11:48 P.M Rittenhouse fired 4 rounds at Rosenbaum. The bullets struck Rosenbaum's groin, back, and left hand, damaging his heart, aorta, pulmonary artery, and right lung. Ginnis tended to Rosenbaum's injuries. Rittenhouse stood above Ginnis aiding Rosenbaum’s injuries for about 30 seconds and then fled the scene and was heard saying, “I just killed somebody.” to Black. Rosenbaum died an hour later at the hospital.
The second confrontation took place before midnight while Rittenhouse was still running away from the parking lot where he killed Rosenbaum. Interviewer Gaige Grosskreutz ran with Rittenhouse, asking him, “Hey, what are you doing?” and “You shoot somebody?”. Other protesters were heard yelling, “He shot him,” “Get him! Get that dude,” and “Beat him up.” Someone hit Rittenhouse, his hat fell off, and he then fell to the ground. While Kyle was on the ground, someone jump-kicked Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse then fired two shots at the man but missed. The second victim, Anthony Huber, hit Kyle with a skateboard with the intent to disarm him. While they were tugging on the gun, Rittenhouse fired once, hitting Huber in the chest. He died on the scene.
Rittenhouse got back up, rifle across his chest, and walked hands up towards the police following the shooting. During the trial, multiple officers said they were responding to an active shooter and that, at the time, they had no idea that Rittenhouse was the shooter. Police officers were demanding Rittenhouse to get off the road, but Rittenhouse did not comply. As he kept moving forward towards the officers, one officer attempted to pepper spray him. Witnesses and protesters were shouting at the officers to arrest him, but the police failed to arrest him. An hour after the shooting, Rittenhouse turned himself into the Antioch police department. Rittenhouse was later charged with first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor, failure to comply with an emergency order. All charges were dismissed for “self-defense.”
Anger and grief fill the media and many people's hearts, as they just watched the justice system do the opposite of what it’s meant to do. At this point, “self-defense” has become a term used to defend only right-winged white people. Unfortunately, the justice system has let down the American people numerous times. For instance, the Breoanna Taylor case where cops could just show up unannounced and Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, used self-defense by shooting a warning shot for what he thought was intruders, and following that the cops fired 32 shots into the home striking, and killing Kenneth’s innocent girlfriend, Breonna Taylor. Kenneth Walker was charged for First-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer. For the longest time, Breonna’s killers were allowed to walk free until the people and media took charge and had protests which demanded her killers to be put in jail. So far, only one of the officers was charged with 2nd-degree murder. So that leaves us with a big question, how will the justice system fail us next?