Fair Trial or Miscarriage of Justice? Why Kyle Rittenhouse Case is Continuing to Polarise Americans

Kyle Rittenhouse on Friday was found not guilty of five felony charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, stemming from a shooting incident that occurred during the Kenosha riots last summer. Earlier this week, the judge dismissed a misdemeanour gun charge against the teen. Is the Rittenhouse case closed once and for all?

The news of Rittenhouse's acquittal has further deepened polarisation within American society, prompting praise from the right and harsh criticism from the left. Joe Biden stated that the jury had spoken and warned against violence and destruction of property. The president added, however, that the verdict left "many Americans feeling angry and concerned, [himself] included".

The Jury Has Spoken

"Justice prevailed in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse", says Vlad Davidiuk, GOP strategist and political analyst. "Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who was acting in self-defence when he was accused of killing two people and shooting another during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer was found not guilty on all charges, and the state prosecution cannot appeal".

The Kenosha riots erupted in late August 2020 after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man, and coincided with a nationwide Black Lives Matter protest movement over the death of George Floyd in police custody. On 25 August 2020, Rittenhouse, a 17-year old from Antioch, Illinois, who carried a Smith and Wesson AR-style semi-automatic rifle to help protect businesses from vandals, fatally shot two white men and injured a thirdwhile being chased by an angry mob. The teen pleaded self-defence in the fatal shooting.

The tragic episode quickly became a part of broader political struggle "between the left - which wants free reign to riot and mayhem as a means of advancing its agenda, and those who stand in support of law and order, including the rights of life, liberty, and self-defence", according to Davidiuk.

"The fact that Rittenhouse felt he had an obligation to defend those under attack in Kenosha is a testament to the failures of the political leadership to find a solution to the growing and dangerous problem of an increasingly militant and violent left in America", the GOP strategist believes.

In the immediate aftermath of the deadly incident top Democratic figures subjected Rittenhouse to harsh criticism. Then presidential nominee Biden compared the 17-year-old teen to "white supremacists and militia groups" in his 30 September 2020 tweet. Democratic Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar called Rittenhouse a "domestic terrorist". Facebook designated the fatal shooting "a mass murder" and removed Kyle's page.

A 17 year old white supremacist domestic terrorist drove across state lines, armed with an AR 15.

He shot and killed 2 people who had assembled to affirm the value, dignity, and worth of Black lives.

Fix your damn headlines.

— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) August 27, 2020

For its part, Discover, one of America's largest credit card issuers, reportedly blocked donations for GiveSendGo, a Free Christian crowdfunding platform that was raising money for Rittenhouse's legal defence. The US mainstream media lashed out at then-President Donald Trump for refusing to "condemn" Kyle Rittenhouse for the Kenosha shootings before the trial.

Trial & Post-Trial Controversies

The Rittenhouse trial was surrounded by controversies, with some journalists trying to vilify the trial judge and MSNBC ending up being barred from the courtroom after a stringer working for the network was caught following the jury bus.

For its part, the prosecution came under heavy criticism from moderate conservatives for what they regarded as an attempt to criminalise the constitutional right to self-defence. Furthermore, the teen's legal team filed a motion for a mistrial with prejudice on 15 November alleging that the prosecution withheld critical video evidence that could back Rittenhouse's self-defence argument.

"While many were demanding a directed verdict after the prosecution's own witnesses derailed the state's case, and the defence moved for a mistrial after allegations of prosecutorial misconduct were made known, the judge's decision to allow the trial to go forward gave the jury the opportunity to deliver a verdict of not guilty on all charges", says Davidiuk.

The verdict triggered no less controversy than the trial itself. Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) on Friday claimed that the judge, jury, and defendant Kyle Rittenhouse were all "white supremacists". For her part, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) insisted that the verdict indicated that "racism and white supremacy remain the bedrock of [the US] legal system".

"The struggle for accountability, for justice, for healing goes on", Pressley tweeted.

Racism & white supremacy remain the bedrock of our legal system.

My heart breaks for the family & loved ones of those whose lives were stolen, and the trauma our communities face today and every day.

The struggle for accountability, for justice, for healing goes on.

— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) November 19, 2021

Protests erupted in a number of American cities on Friday night, with some of them turning violent. Police in Portland, Oregon, declared a riot around 9:00 p.m. local time after demonstrators started smashing car and store windows. In New York City, at least five people were arrested in Queens and a group of approximately 300 protesters was seen outside the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn before marching across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan, according to The Daily Wire. Slate noted on Saturday that, in contrast, there was no major unrest or clashes in Kenosha, where the trial took place.

'Federal Review of Rittenhouse Verdict'

Meanwhile, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) has recently called for a federal review of the Rittenhouse verdict. "This heartbreaking verdict is a miscarriage of justice and sets a dangerous precedent which justifies federal review by DOJ", Nadler tweeted on 19 November. "Justice cannot tolerate armed persons crossing state lines looking for trouble while people engage in First Amendment-protected protest".

"The outlandish suggestion by House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler that there should be a federal review of the verdict underscores that these Democratic leftists are the ones who see right and wrong through racial and Marxist lenses", argues investigative journalist Mark Dankof, suggesting that ordinary Americans are fed up with the BLM's and Antifa's "revolutionary agendas".

According to Fox News, there are several factors that could make it unlikely for federal prosecutors to reconsider the Rittenhouse case, as the youth, who was 17 years old at the time of the incident, did not violate federal law. The Washington Free Beacon drew attention to Nadler not specifying which DOJ division he wanted to address. The media outlet added that the DOJ had not responded to a request to comment on the issue.

It appears doubtful that Biden's DOJ would be reckless enough to seek federal charges against Rittenhouse, deems Ethan Ralph, a conservative political commentator and host of the Killstream. At the same time, he believes "the fact that it's even being discussed by the likes of Jerry Nadler is proof enough that this sickness isn't going away". Ralph bemoaned the fact that the "television is full of the nastiest anti-Rittenhouse propaganda", adding that he does not expect it to stop.