“As law enforcement arrived on scene, they initially did not approach Rittenhouse - an example of how the race of the person who is holding a gun largely influences the perception of whether the gun is seen as a threatening weapon or simply an adornment. “Kyle Rittenhouse’s intrusion upon the community of Kenosha exemplifies our country’s shameful acceptance of the expendability of Black lives and the lives of those who stand up for us,” said Janel Cubbage, director of Strategic Partnerships and Equity at the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence. “The American justice system worked as designed, and a young man who has been lambasted, defamed, and threatened by the media and the anti-gun Left was declared innocent of all the charges against him,” said Dudley Brown, the executive director for the National Foundation for Gun Rights.Īnti-violence groups, for their part, decried the verdict as an example of how white men with guns are treated differently from others. The groups have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the teen’s defense since his arrest. Within minutes of the outcome, gun-rights organizations sent emails holding the verdict up as an endorsement of the Second Amendment. Jurors left the courthouse without comment.
Gittings said she has expressed empathy for Rittenhouse, “but that’s just not reciprocated back.” “Every day I wish I could come home to him and unload some of this weight that is on my shoulders, but I can’t because he’s dead, and now the system is telling me that no one needs to answer for that. “I miss Anthony every single day,” she said, fighting back tears. Gittings later said the verdict left her heartbroken but not surprised. They were escorted to the parking lot and drove away. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)Īs the arguments raged on the steps, Huber’s girlfriend Hannah Gittings and his great-aunt Susan Hughes slowly made their way down a ramp surrounded by a gantlet of deputies and media. It’s been shown over and over.”Īctivist Vaun Mayes confronts Kyle Rittenhouse supporters on the steps of the Kenosha County Courthouse after Rittenhouse was found not guilty of all charges in his murder trial, Nov. “Now we have another shooting in this town, and he’s getting off today. “(Jacob Blake) was shot seven times in the back in front of his children and paralyzed,” he said. “We should have the right to self-defense.”Īcross the steps, Justin Blake, who like other activists believed Rittenhouse received deference that no Black defendant would get, condemned the verdict. “I’m very, very happy about it,” she said by phone later as she prepared to leave Kenosha for her hometown of Plainfield. After the final “not guilty” was read, pro-Rittenhouse demonstrators erupted in cheers.Įmily Cahill smiled and shouted, “Yeah!” She hopped up and down in celebration and waved a sign that said, “Self-defense is not a crime,” before sprinting away down the street. With no loudspeakers to broadcast the proceedings happening inside, the crowd outside relied on cellphones to follow the verdicts. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)Īs word of the imminent verdict filtered out to the courthouse steps, which have served all week as a forum for demonstrators, a huge media scrum formed around Justin Blake, Jacob Blake’s uncle, and local activists. Shequila Morrison, Justin Blake, Tanya McLean, Bishop Tavis Grant and Vaun Mayes listen as the verdict is read in the Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial, outside of the Kenosha County Courthouse on Nov.
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