Masses of people gathered coast-to-coast Friday night to decry Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal in protests that reflected the divisiveness and anger stoked by the high-profile case.
As similar incidents took place across the country, hundreds gathered at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn.
Jurors cleared Rittenhouse of all charges, including two counts of murder, one count for attempted homicide to wound a third man and two counts each of recklessly endangering life safety after Rittenhouse was accused of two counts. Rittenhouse died in protests that were marred by rioting, arson and looting, which took place on August 25, 2020 in Kenosha.
After 200 protestors started throwing things at officers and smashing windows in Portland, Oregon, KOIN reported.
Meanwhile, scores of people were seen marching through New York about 7 p.m. carrying signs that branded Rittenhouse as a ‘racist killer’ and the judicial system as biased.
‘The message is that when you stand up for black liberation, when you stand up for black lives, no matter who you are you automatically become a target of the system,’ Na-Lakan Masego, a protester, told CBS New York.
Another speaker at the rally said the jury’s verdict was a blow to the entire nation.
‘By allowing Kyle Rittenhouse to walk away, this entire country – this government – has slapped us all in the face for the millionth time,’ he told the crowd. ‘We cannot allow them to continue treating us like we do not exist because they hurt us.’
Nationwide protestors gathered Friday to demonstrate against the jury’s decision to exonerate Kyle Rittenhouse from all charges in relation to his shooting death and two other deaths last year in Kenosha. Pictured: On November 19, demonstrators protested against the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York.
Chicago was home to dozens of protestors, one holding signs that said “Kyle will Kill Again!”
Rittenhouse could spend life behind bars if convicted of the most serious offense, using an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle to murder two men (Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum) and injure a third man, Gaige Grosskreutz.
As the night progressed, Kenosha remained relatively quiet.
Around 40 people were present at the courthouse, but it was peaceful. Many carried signs, including one saying ‘Welcome to AmeriKKKa.’
A middle-aged man, wearing a Stars and Stripes hat tried to provoke the crowd with a sign saying ‘Rittenhouse Rules!’
One young woman was arrested after she scrawled the words ‘White supremacists are cowards’ and ‘Judge Schroeder must go’ on the courthouse steps. Bruce Schroeder, the judge in her case was she she was referring too.
Police arrived quickly to rescue her, having largely been out of view as she grew in number.
President Joe Biden urged for peace. He said the country should abide by its verdict.
After learning the verdict at the Kenosha courthouse, Wisconsin on November 19, a woman reacts with anger
After the arrest, protestors held up signs in Los Angeles (California).
Jumaane Williams of New York City was quoted as saying that the problem revolves around definitions of self-defense. Rittenhouse said that he was practicing this when he killed the three men.
‘It also depends who has a gun, and it also depends on what they’re actually fighting for,’ he told CBS New York. ‘It seems if you are trying to say something about Black Lives Matter or something about justice and equity, it doesn’t have the same weight.’
Others chanted ‘no justice, no peace,’ and ‘these racist cops have got to go’ as they marched.
An event speaker urged attendees to participate in these events until the winter is over, regardless of how cold it may be.
‘Black lives are still mattering and they’re still going to be shot down,’ she said. ‘And when we call on you to show up, I need you to f***ing show up.’
Los Angeles Coalition for Community Control Over the Police urged its supporters to protest in Los Angeles.
Oakland was invaded by about 100 people carrying signs that read ‘Rittenhouse, Racist Killer’.
Before Friday’s demonstration in Oakland, businesses put up their windows. Police erected barricades and officers erected barriers.
Rittenhouse faces life imprisonment if convicted of the most serious crime, which was using an AR style semi-automatic rifle in order to kill and wound two people.
‘Kyle walked,’ the group said on its Facebook page.
The group invited protesters and others to Florence and Normandie on Friday afternoon. This is where angry masses congregated in 1992, after the jury found four officers guilty of Rodney King’s brutal beating. It prompted the LA riots.
‘Bring water and mutual aid items if u want to continue that work.’
Dozens of people gathered at Chicago’s Federal Plaza carrying signs that said ‘reject racist vigilante terror’ and chanting ‘lock him up,’ the Chicago Tribune reported.
‘He is part of a whole fascist movement that is gaining ground around the country and it will not stop until we recognize it and take matters into our own hands nonviolently refusing to accept a racist America,’ event speaker Jay Becker told attendees during the peaceful event.
Protests continued peacefully across the nation, even at Brooklyn’s demonstration.
Some shouted: ‘The whole damn system is guilty as hell. Indict, convict, send Rittenhouse to jail.’
ABC News 7 reported that businesses in Northern California were blocking their windows, and that police had erected barricades for protests.
A total of 100 protestors participated in the Oakland rally
Portland Police Bureau Chief Chuck Lovell said during a Friday press conference that it was ‘reasonable’ to expect protests in that city as well.
‘Here in Portland especially, it’s reasonable to expect there will be some type of reaction to the verdict,’ Lovell told reporters. ‘Like we’ve said many, many times, we’re supportive of peaceful protest, people exercising their First Amendment rights.’
In a Friday statement, Tony Evers (Wisconsin Governor) also called for calm.
‘I echo the calls of local Kenosha community leaders and join them in asking everyone who might choose to assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights in any community to please only do so safely and peacefully,’ the governor said.
“We must maintain peace in Kenosha as well as in our local communities. All efforts and actions that seek to cause division within our state will not be accepted, they will hinder the healing process.