- Kyle Rittenhouse, an American teenager, was acquitted of all charges related to the death of the protester. He said self-defense was “not illegal.”
- In August last year, during protests and riots against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Rittenhouse shot and killed two men.
- This controversial court ruling triggered sporadic protests across the country, highlighting the inadequacy of gun control laws in the United States.
Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed two men in protests and riots last year, and was found not guilty for opposing police brutality.
On Friday, a jury found that the 18-year-old was guilty of reckless and intentional homicide and other charges arising from the Kenosha shooting in Wisconsin in August 2020.
The ruling sparked sporadic protests across the country late Friday-from New York to Portland, Oregon-but it was also praised by court supporters and gun rights advocates, highlighting the degree of division in the case. .
In a comment broadcast by Fox News on Saturday, the teenager smiled while sitting in the car after the verdict and said that he was relieved that his “difficult journey” was over.
Rittenhouse said before his full interview with Fox on Monday night:
The jury made the correct verdict-self-defense is not illegal. I am very happy that everything went well… we passed a difficult time.
-The subsequent documentary is also scheduled to be broadcast in December.
Rittenhouse’s family later said through a spokesperson that they had been moved to an undisclosed location.
Spokesperson David Hancock told CBS: “They are doing well now, they are in an undisclosed location, they are a family, and everyone is ecstatic.”
Rittenhouse’s case has attracted national attention, partly because it stemmed from the “black man’s fate” demonstrations that swept across the country last year, and were characterized by a controversial mix of guns, racial tensions, and vigilance.
The teenager testified in a two-week trial that after he was attacked on a turbulent night in Kenosha, in self-defense, he shot two men and wounded another with his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. A man.
Rittenhouse, who lives in neighboring Illinois, claimed that he went to Kenosha to protect the business from robbers and work as a doctor.
Must Read | Rittenhouse shot and killed two men during an anti-racism protest in Kenosha, saying he “stopped the threat”
The prosecutor retorted that the then 17-year-old Rittenhouse “provoked” these incidents on a chaotic night when a white police officer shot a black man Jacob Black several times during his arrest, causing him to be paralyzed. .
But the jury sided with Rittenhouse.
For John Huber, the father of a man killed in Kenosha, the “shock” did not dissipate when he appeared on CNN on Saturday morning.
“We still can’t believe it,” Huber said. “He should be sentenced to about 40 years in prison. This is our expectation.”
“That man can run freely. He is a hero now. This is my son here. This is Anthony,” Huber said, holding up a small urn and a picture of his son.
“Our family has no justice now, nor is it over.”
Split case
The reaction to the ruling reflects the nation’s disagreements over the right to own guns in the United States-and where the limits of this constitutionally protected right should lie.
President Joe Biden warned against violence after the sentence and called for calm.
Biden said in a statement:
Although the Kenosha verdict will make many Americans, including me, angry and worried, we must admit that the jury has spoken. I urge everyone to express their views peacefully while observing the rule of law.
In an editorial, the Wisconsin Journal called the verdict “disappointing” and stated that it “will certainly encourage radicals who try to take the law into their own hands.”
“But further violence against the sentence will not help anyone.”
At the same time, the American Gun Owners Association praised Rittenhouse as a “gun owner and self-defense warrior” and stated that it would “reward him” an AR-15, just like the one he used in Kenosha that night. .
Rittenhouse faces a total of five charges and has won praise from some Republican lawmakers and former President Donald Trump.
The most serious allegation—intentional homicide—mandatory sentence to life imprisonment.
The jury conducted a total of 26 hours of deliberations over four days, and then unanimously ruled that all the charges were not guilty.
Read | Jury acquits Kyle Rittenhouse
According to local media reports, hundreds of people marched in downtown Chicago on Saturday to protest the acquittal of Rittenhouse, led by the senior American civil rights activist Pastor Jesse Jackson.
“We have the right, the constitutional right, to march,” Jackson was quoted as saying by the Chicago Sun Times.
“He has the constitutional right to oppose. He has no right to kill us.”
According to the “Sun Times” report, Jackson added that he and his supporters will hold another parade in Kenosha on Sunday.
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