#Kyle rittenhouse not guilty memes trial#

#Kyle rittenhouse not guilty memes trial#

The Kenosha case was part of an extraordinary confluence of trials that reflected the deep divide over race in the United States: In Georgia, three white men are on trial in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, while in Virginia, a trial is underway in a lawsuit over the deadly white-supremacist rally held in Charlottesville in 2017. We have seen so many Black and brown youth killed, only to be put on trial posthumously, while the innocence of Kyle Rittenhouse was virtually demanded by the judge.'Īnalysis Kyle Rittenhouse becomes poster boy for armed self-defence after Kenosha shootingįifteen minutes after the verdicts, the National Rifle Association tweeted the text of the Second Amendment. 'Over the last few weeks, many dreaded the outcome we just witnessed,' Barnes said. 'The presumption of innocence until proven guilty is what we should expect from our judicial system, but that standard is not always applied equally. Senate, denounced the outcome. He, like many civil rights activists, saw a racial double standard at work in the case. Mandela Barnes, who is Black and a Democratic candidate for U.S. Tony Evers announced last week that 500 National Guard members stood ready in case of trouble after the verdict.Īs he released the jurors, Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder assured them the court would take 'every measure' to keep them safe. Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley said his office respects the jury's decision, and he asked the public to 'accept the verdicts peacefully and not resort to violence.'Īhead of the verdict, Democratic Gov. Rittenhouse supporters are seen outside the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha on Friday. Rittenhouse could have been sentenced to life in prison if found guilty on the most serious charge, first-degree intentional homicide, or what some other states call first-degree murder. Two other charges each carried over 60 years behind bars. President Joe Biden called for calm, saying that while the outcome of the case 'will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken.'įormer president Donald Trump, who at the time of the shootings said it appeared Rittenhouse had been 'very violently attacked, ' issued a statement Friday congratulating Rittenhouse on the verdict, saying: 'If that's not self defence, nothing is!' The jury, whose racial makeup was not disclosed by the court but appeared to be overwhelmingly white, deliberated for close to three and a half days. Rittenhouse, then 17 years old and a former police youth cadet, said he went to Kenosha to protect property from rioters.

Jacob Blake's shooting led to several nights of protests and unrest, and ultimately the fatal shootings committed by Rittenhouse. Justin Blake, left, uncle of Jacob Blake, listens to the verdict being read outside the Kenosha County Courthouse on Friday.

The verdict in the politically volatile case was met with anger and disappointment from those who saw Rittenhouse as a vigilante and a wannabe cop, and relief and vindication from those who regarded him as a patriot who wanted to stop lawlessness and exercised his Second Amendment right to carry a gun and to defend himself. Supporters donated more than $2 million US toward his legal defence. But as he said when he testified, he did not start this.' 'He has a huge sense of relief for what the jury did to him today. 'He wants to get on with his life,' defence attorney Mark Richards said. A sheriff's deputy immediately whisked him out a back door. Rittenhouse, 18, began to choke up, fell forward toward the defence table and then hugged one of his attorneys as he heard a court clerk recite 'not guilty' five times. Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges Friday after pleading self-defence in the deadly Kenosha, Wis., shootings that became a flashpoint in the nation's debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice.