Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two anti-racism protesters in Kenosha, has been acquitted

From our correspondent in Washington
Not guilty. Kyle Rittenhouse
Protesters, 19, were acquitted yesterday Friday, November 19, in the killing of two protesters, Joseph Rosenbaum, 36 and Anthony Huber, 26, and the wounding of a third, Gaige Grosskreutz, 28. All white.

Cale faced life in prison for murder and four other counts. Instead, he remains a free citizen.

The ruling provokes feelings and protests. Protesters gather outside the courthouse in the small town of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Until late in the evening the situation seemed to be under control. But the authorities are anxiously awaiting the next few nights: The most violent parties can attack shops or public buildings. Wisconsin’s Governor, Democrat Tony Evers, has already mobilized 500 National Guard soldiers, currently waiting outside the city.

The family of one of the murdered youth, Anthony Hopper, published a note filled with bitterness: There was no justice for Anthony and the other victims.

The jury accepted Kyle’s attorney’s thesis: Boy AG in self-defense: He was repeatedly attacked and shot to save his life. He rejected all the clues collected by the Prosecutor General’s Office, as well as thanks to the use of drones. According to the attorney general, Rittenhouse was looking for trouble that night with his fellow militiamen.

national case. The main stages of the operation were broadcast live on television. Once again, controversy has been raised about the use of guns, about the idea of ​​self-defense, rooted in the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.

Reconstructing events is important. We have to go back to August 2020. The country was shaken by the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protestsAfter the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

On August 23, a policeman was hit by seven bullets At the back is African American Jacob Blake, 29. The man was trying to put out a quarrel between two women. According to the family’s attorney, Patrick Salvi, Blake was unarmed. The man will remain semi-paralyzed in his legs.

The protests broke out, with nighttime clashes between activists and police. For three consecutive nights Kenosha no man’s land.

And here we are on August 25th. Shortly after midnight, when a boy in a baseball cap turned back, he was moving along Sheridan Road in the middle of town. He carries a long-barreled rifle over his shoulder. From the pictures it looks like an Ar-15 semi-automatic submachine gun for sale as if it was a gardening tool in most of America. Who is the ? Where does it come from? It will later be discovered that it has been called Kyle Rittenhouse is part of an armed militia Kenosha’s bodyguard. They met via Facebook to protect property, specifically a gas station and some nearby stores.

The videos show an interesting sequence. Cale advances down the dark street. A small group of protesters chased after him, they joined in. Someone throws him to the ground and tries to disarm him. But the angry reaction. Several shots begin: the body can be seen on the asphalt. Cale now had time to get up and run away. He disappears into thin air but the next morning he is arrested in Antioch, Illinois: he is only 17 years old.

The story immediately became political, With the intervention of then President Donald Trump in favor of the accused, He was acquitted even before the trial.

The session in the courtroom focused on Cale’s intentions, while basic questions remained open. The right to allow an ordinary citizen, especially if he is a minor, To walk the streets with a machine gun, Loaded with thirty bullets? Does it still make sense for the militia to set itself the task of maintaining public order?

Now, however, Governor Evers says, with the disappointment made no secret, the priority is to avoid another escalation of violence.