The march of gun violence continues as Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges after testifying he acted in self-defense in the deadly Kenosha shootings that became a flashpoint in the debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice in the U.S.
The verdict in the politically combustible case was met with anger and disappointment from those who saw Rittenhouse as a vigilante and a wannabe cop, and relief and a sense of vindication from those who regarded him as a patriot who took a stand against lawlessness and exercised his Second Amendment right to carry a gun and to defend himself. Supporters donated more than $2 million toward his legal defense.
This verdict throws into doubt the safety of people who protest in support of Black Americans.
Rittenhouse is a former police youth cadet, said that he went to Kenosha to protect property from rioters but that he came under attack and feared for his life. He is white, as were those he shot.
The jury, whose racial makeup appeared to be overwhelmingly white, deliberated for close to 3 1/2 days.
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.”
Meanwhile, the murder convictions of three white men who killed Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia last year drew broad approval across the United States on Wednesday, even from many conservatives who agreed that justice demanded the trio be held accountable for chasing and shooting an unarmed 25-year-old Black man who was running through their neighborhood.
11 of 12 jurors in that case were white. The verdict was widely applauded, but many saw an America still grievously beset by injustice, with an uncertain path to genuine reconciliation.
On this Thanksgiving week there was some satisfying vindication.
The scope of this case was seen as far-reaching, much like the police murder of George Floyd, whose death galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement.
Rittenhouse, 17 at the time of the shootings, was lionized by the right and feted by former President Trump, but support for Arbery’s assailants was much more muted, even among self-described conservatives.
Arbery’s killing shows how racial inequities render mundane activities a deadly risk. Black men do not feel safe engaging in normal activities such as running on the street, as Arbery was doing when he was stalked and attacked. This brutal violence is long associated with the American South of generations past, with lynchings and repressive Jim Crow laws.
Republican leaders in Georgia condemned Arbery’s killing and said vigilante-style violence had no place in their state. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp responded to Arbery’s shooting in February 2020 by signing into law the state’s first hate crimes bill in June of that year, which imposed additional penalties for crimes motivated by bias.
In May of this year, Georgia repealed the state’s citizen’s arrest law and significantly restricted the ability of anyone who is not a certified law enforcement officer to arrest someone. Kemp called the old law “antiquated” and “ripe for abuse.”
There were some astounding comments in the trial. The lead defense attorney’s demeaning reference to Arbery’s “long, dirty toenails.” The defense’s unsuccessful demand that Black faith leaders not be allowed into the courtroom.