Kyle Rittenhouse, an 18-year-old from Illinois, was acquitted of all charges on Nov. 19 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse is responsible for killing two men and injuring a third during the unrest last year in Kenosha in responds to the police-involved shooting of Jacob Blake.
Timeline
During the summer of 2020, civil unrest broke out all around the country in response to George Floyd‘s death. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement started to spread throughout the country as more people started protested police violence against the Black community.
In August of 2020, Jacob Blake, 29, was shot and injured by Kenosha police. The shooting sparked more protests. Many people criticized the violence that broke out. One of them was Rittenhouse, who was 17 at that time. He showed up to Kenosha with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle. Rittenhouse claimed he was to protect property from the unrest that broke out. Rittenhouse also claimed he shot in self-defense.
Self-defense differs in each state but Wisconsin allows it if the person has ‘exhausted every other reasonable means to escape from or otherwise avoid death or great bodily harm.’
In Wisconsin, there is also an open carry law that allows for people to carry firearms with them in public. They can either be fully visible or partially. Minors are also allowed to carry a firearm. Rittenhouse was charged on seven counts. Three related to homicide, and four related to safety.
“For anyone who knows anything about the American justice system it’s not at all surprising though. If you look at Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice and then compare what happened there to what happened to Kyle Rittenhouse, you know what the main factor is. Race, ” said Kaitlyn Colvin, ’22.
Victims
Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, was the first victim. He had just gotten out of the hospital. According to Rittenhouse’s statement, Rosenbaum approached the 18-year-old. He was unarmed but held a plastic bag in his hands. Rittenhouse alleged that he felt threatened and shot him, stating also that Rosenbaum has reached for his gun. After Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum, he fled the scene. Many witnesses ran after Rittenhouse, thinking Rittenhouse was an active shooter.
Anthony Huber, 26, ran after Rittenhouse as he fled. He tried to stop Rittenhouse by him with a skateboard. Rittenhouse shot him afterward.
Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, joined in chasing after Rittenhouse. He had also brought a gun to the protest. It was said that during the time he was shot, that his gun was pointed towards Rittenhouse. Grosskreutz was shot in the arm but survived.
Students’ reaction
The last year-and-a-half have been increasingly harder to cope with race and politics for some NCC students.
“I mean first and foremost I think it’s absurd. It’s ridiculous to me how young Black men are brutally shot to death by the police yet a white man can show up to a protest with an assault rifle, kill two people, severely injure one, and walk free with zero consequences. This case was just another example of the systemic racism that America was built on,” says Colvin.
As more students continue to grapple with the aftermath of what happened, due to how much of a part, race being a factor in this case.
“I was really upset about it. It worries me like crazy because I know more riots will happen, if not riots than more racism and it’s dangerous for my loved ones and even me as Black people because we fit the profile,” Alana Steele, ’24.
