Headlines similar to this appeared in newspapers all around the world. Television, radio and the internet also lit up with views as different as day is from night. Like many things in our modern contentious world, these headlines caused many to take a deep sigh of relief while a near equal amount were angry and felt justice was not served. Demonstrations/riots resulted in many cities and, per normal “modern day” protocol, they were all downgraded to demonstrations by the media.
I read in NPR (November 20) that after the verdict, “Police officials in Portland referred to actions near the Multnomah County Justice Center as a riot and warned all present to vacate the area or risk being met with force.” The article then documented that the police reported that, “‘A significant part of the crowd’ were engaging in ‘violent, destructive behavior’ that included breaking windows and throwing objects at officers on the scene.” The NPR did not describe the incident as a riot but, to their credit, they reported that the police did.
Sorry, let’s jump to the beginning.
Before I started researching the trial, and stories related to it, I believed the young man had shot three Black men. Did any of you who just heard the short news blurbs and lead ins on radio and TV about a white supremacist attack feel the same? Did any of you who followed the case believe as I did, at least initially? Is anyone else confused as to how a white man shooting other white men can be called racially motivated?
It was reported on a conservative radio show that many European news outlets sourced reports from the United States and reported that Rittenhouse had shot three Black men. (NOTE: I was not able to confirm this via internet searches). I was driving at the time and did not make a note of the show or the source cited, I wish I had.
Miranda Devine wrote an excellent article for The New York Post November 17, 2021 titled “10 HEINOUS LIES ABOUT KYLE RITTENHOUSE DEBUNKED.” She starts her piece by recapping some of the other atrocities committed by the “woke” media. Devine wrote, “Of all the willful lies and omissions in the media’s coverage of the Steele dossier, Brian Sicknick, the Covington kids, Jussie Smollett, the Wuhan lab, Hunter Biden’s laptop and so on, nothing beats the evil propaganda peddled about Kyle Rittenhouse.”
If you are confused by this list, as many people might be? I encourage you to search for the truth. I caution that the truth will be difficult to find because those in control of most of our information sources don’t want you to know. Dare I say, they want Americans to believe we live in a “Systemically racist” society where the police are the problem, all Whites are racist and all minorities (Both citizens and those who are here illegally) need government assistance to survive. If you’ve read any of my blogs I don’t need to say, “I disagree.”
Meanwhile, back at the topic, Ms. Devine recaps the storyline we heard for so many months, “Kyle Rittenhouse is a white supremacist whose mother drove him across state lines with an AR15 to shoot Black Lives Matter protesters.” Devine goes on to document that John Heilemann MSNBC’s national affairs analyst portrayed Rittenhouse as, “A white, Trump-supporting, MAGA-loving Blue Lives Matter social media partisan, 17 years old, who picks up a gun, drives from one state to another with the intent to shoot people.” If you read on, you’ll see that this statement is not true and that when the facts surfaced it was not retracted.
That’s what I remember hearing. What about you?
Here are the 10 lies Ms. Devine pointed out, but there were more:
- Kyle Rittenhouse killed Black BLM protesters. Devine answers that lie with these facts. All three of the men he shot in self-defense during violent riots in Kenosha on Aug. 25 last year were White.
- He crossed state lines. Devine explains Rittenhouse lives 20 miles from Kenosha in Antioch, Ill., with his mother and sisters. But his father, grandmother, aunt, uncle, cousins and best friend live in Kenosha. He had a job as a lifeguard in Kenosha and worked a shift on Aug. 25 before helping (to) clean graffiti left by rioters at a local school. While he was there, volunteering, he and his friend were invited to join other adults who had been asked by the owners of a used car lot in Kenosha to guard the property after 100 of their cars had been torched the previous night, when police abandoned the town to rioters. Kyle took his gun to protect himself, since the rioters were violent and armed, including, for instance, Antifa medic Gaige Grosskreutz, who lunged at him with a loaded Glock pointed at his head before Rittenhouse could shoot him in the arm.
- Rittenhouse took an AR15 across state lines. Esquire Magazine accused him of “terrorist tourism” while the truth is that his rifle was kept in a safe at his best friend’s stepfather’s house in Kenosha.
- The gun was illegal. This was a lie initiated by the prosecution’s original charging papers and debunked by the trial judge who dismissed the gun charges as unfounded.
- Rittenhouse’s mother drove him across state lines to riot. The truth as documented by Devine is, “Wendy Rittenhouse (Kyle’s mother), 46, never went to Kenosha. She slept late the morning of Aug. 25 after working a 16-hour shift at a nursing home near her home in Antioch, she told the Chicago Tribune, Kyle had already gone to his job in Kenosha when she woke up.”
- He was an “active shooter” who took his gun to a riot looking for trouble. Devine quotes Joe Scarborough (On MSNBC) as saying, “A 17-year-old kid just running around shooting and killing protesters, who drove across state lines with an AR-15 and started shooting people up.” How can anyone get away with such a blatant lie? I believe quotes like that are, in a large part, the cause of the unrest resulting from the verdict. Are ratings more important than truth and real-life consequences? I guess they are to Joe Scarborough. In case anyone is hoping to hear an apology, or at least a retraction from Scarborough the evidence indicates that is highly unlikely. After the real evidence brought into court showed that Scarborough was either mistaken, or lying, he doubled down calling Rittenhouse a, “self-appointed militia member…. unloading 60 rounds.” When the defense called out Scarborough’s lies in their closing arguments Scarborough, again showed his arrogance and distain for the truth, or for justice and safety of the innocent (in this case Kyle Rittenhouse and anyone who will be hurt by possible rioting- remember last year?) by tweeting that he was “embarrassed for the lawyer.” He did not acknowledge the truth or his misrepresentations of it.
- Rittenhouse is a “white supremacist.” As then candidate Joe Biden labeled him in a tweet showing the teenager’s photograph. Devine continued, “When White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked to explain why (Biden would spread this falsehood) recently, she slyly slimed Rittenhouse again, without naming him, as a ‘vigilante.'” I yearn for a return of the practice of proof being required to make such accusations! In her article Devine goes on to note that the Intercept used the term “white supremacist” 16 times. She also documented that, “the FBI scoured Kyle’s phone and found nothing about white supremacy or militias. This was documented at the trial. All they saw were pro-police, “Blue Lives Matter” posts from a kid who had been a police and fire department cadet, wanted to be a police officer or paramedic and once sat near the front of a Trump rally. That was enough for the media to brand him a white supremacist, even though none of that is white racism.”
- “He ‘flashed white power signs’ with Proud Boys” is the 8th lie Devine documents in her article. The truth in this story is that Kyle had been released from jail 2 days after his 18th birthday and went to a bar (Legal age for drinking beer and wine in Wisconsin is 18) to celebrate with his mother and other adults. He posed for selfies at the bar with strangers who the media claim, but offer no proof, are “Proud Boys” (a white supremacist group). Kyle made the “OK” sign with his thumb and forefinger in some of the pictures (This is the same sign President Biden has made in many pictures). Devine explains in the article that, “the false claim of this being a white supremacy sign comes from a 2017 hoax on the website 4chan, to punk liberals, who keep falling for it.” Also, refer to #7 where it is noted that The FBI scoured Kyle’s phone and found nothing about white supremacy or militias.
- “Kyle wore surgical gloves to cover his fingerprints.” This ridiculous claim spread by Matthew Modine makes no sense when combined with THE FACT that he did not cover his face which is easily identified in many photographs and videos. A more logical explanation for his wearing gloves is that he was offering first aid to strangers (This is verified on video and by trial testimony) and gloves are recommended to avoid the transfer of body fluids when giving first aid.
- “Judge Bruce Schroeder is a ‘Trump’ racist biased toward the defense” is the final lie Devine documented. This slur is based on the fact he would not let the prosecution use the term ‘victim’- a common practice when the jury has not ruled on a case. He also told a lame joke about Asian food for lunch being held up by the supply chain crisis, and his phone’s ring tone sounds like a 1980’s ditty played at Trump rallies.” That claim of the judge being a biased Trump supporter is unfounded and, if the people who have been pushing it would have practiced any due diligence, they would have easily learned that the judge is a registered Democrat who actually ran for the state senate on the Democratic ticket and was appointed by a Democratic governor. More bias was alleged by what The Chicago Tribune said was, “a highly unusual step to allow Kyle to draw names randomly out of a container at the end of the trial to determine which 12 of the 18 jurors would determine his fate.” What The Tribune called highly unusual is something the judge said he always does, but why let the truth get in the way of a good story?
Here are some of the reasons why I am confused by the negative reaction to this verdict. The following are all facts that are available to anyone interested in the truth.
- It is a God given and constitutionally guaranteed right to protect property. To those who say Kyle should not have been there I say he had every right to be there weather he was invited or not.
- He was asked to protect property. It was verified during the trial that he was invited.
- There would have been no problem if the people who had no right to be rioting, including attacking Rittenhouse with bare hands and a skateboard had stopped when he begged them to. They would not be dead if they had stopped their unlawful behavior. They would not be dead if they had never started that unlawful behavior.
- There is a video that the police had prior to charging Rittenhouse that shows he was running from a group of people including those he eventually shot. With this evidence in hand prior to the arrest, I don’t know why he was charged.
- In one of the videos, he can be heard yelling “FRIENDLY” the riotous mob ignored him and attacked him.
- The agenda driven press and politicians, including the prosecutor, grew an unfortunate case of self-defense into an internationally covered murder trial that should never have been.
- Those who continue to say he was an out of state white supremacist who came to Wisconsin with the intent to kill innocent protesters are ignoring many key truths. Rittenhouse had many ties to Kenosha, his father, other family, friends including his best friend and a job. He worked his job then volunteered at a school to clean graffiti left by the protesters prior to the incident. Millions of dollars of damage were done to businesses the night before and he was asked to protect a business.
- The riots were violent the night before and he legally brought his gun for protection.
- It is not unreasonable to believe that if you have a long gun and you order people to move on and stop their illegal activities they will move on.
- In this incident three of the rioters did not obey and chose to attack the rifle bearing 17-year-old with hands, a skate board and a loaded Glock.
- No matter how strongly a person feels about any cause they do not have a legal right to act violently, destroy property or attack people.
- Anyone who is attacked is legally allowed to reasonably defend themself.
- Contrary to Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger’s claims in his closing arguments, you do not lose your right to self-defense if you are armed.
- Social media influencer Koerri Washington testified that Joseph Rosenbaum hurled the N-word and yelled, “shoot me.” Washington testified that he made a, “mental note” of Rosenbaum due to his “erratic” behavior according to a story by Amanda Prestigiacomo in the DailyWire.com.
- Another witness, Drew Hernandez, a commentator for Real America Voice who covered the Kenosha riots testified, “As the first firearm goes off Rosenbaum is already charging Kyle from behind and attempts to throw a bag at him, not sure what’s inside of it, and Kyle is right at the corner of Car Source and turns around and Rosenbaum is lunging toward him very clearly and Kyle fires.”
My understanding is that anyone who holds a public office, weather local or national, has sworn to work for the common good, support the constitution and all laws. If there are laws they disagree with they should work through the system to abolish or amend them.
In Wisconsin it is against the law to trespass on property, to remain on the property after being told to leave, to damage property and it is a felony to commit arson in regards to burning property. This is one of the reasons I am confused by all of the politicians who have come out against the Rittenhouse verdict and are sympathising with Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber and Gaige Grosskreutz.
It came out in the trial that Mr. Rosenbaum had pushed a burning dumpster at an occupied police vehicle (Brianna Lyman- Daily Caller-https://dailycaller.com) and later in the trial it was revealed that Rosenbaum concealed his identity and started another fire and the witness, Hernandez, told the court that he heard Rittenhouse asking if anyone needed medical assistance. With this on the record many politicians and reporters are still choosing to villainize Rittenhouse.
As a matter of perspective, I bought my first car when I was 16. The car was a $50.00 treasure that I drove until I was involved in a minor accident that made it a total loss with my liability only insurance- remember it was a $50.00 car. I was devastated. This was my property that I worked hard for and would have a hard time replacing. It is hard to imagine the enormous amount of damage done in the riots. Few arrests were made, I’m sure the citizens felt somewhat helpless, particularly the downtown business owners. I owned an automotive repair shop in the early 1980’s. If I had lost a considerable amount of inventory to rioting and it appeared the riots were going to go on for a second day, I would definitely ask for help, wouldn’t you? If I was able to, and I knew of a business owner who had suffered losses due to criminal damage and was concerned about additional losses I would stand with him, wouldn’t you?
I mentioned above that I heard many comments made that Rittenhouse should not have gotten involved in Kenosha. A lot of these comments were made by politicians, who should have a concern for the safety and security of all citizens. Other comments were made by paid news correspondents whose responsibilities include writing/speaking the truth and verifying the statements to the best of their ability prior to releasing it. Just as I have noted here, and documented in previous blogs, this was not done.
Then Presidential Candidate Joseph Biden likened Rittenhouse to a white supremacist by including Kyle’s photo in a tweet about his allegation that, then president, Trump did not stand against white supremacy as strongly as he should have. It was reported (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rittenhouse-acquital-reaction-highlights-naition-s-polarized-politics-republicans-claim-2nd-amendment-victory…) that after the not guilty verdict was returned now President Biden said, “The verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned myself included” Still Biden said, “We must acknowledge that the jury has spoken.”
That opinion is one of the reasons that I did not vote for Biden. He was the vice president when Ferguson took place. I was a police officer then and, believe me, the false narrative put out by the Obama administration made my job more difficult. He is doing now what Obama did then. Putting all of the blame on the person trying to preserve peace. Instead of waiting for any kind of proof. Obama chose to side with the “unarmed” man who was very big and very violent. The man who attacked Officer Wilson and beat him. Despite the efforts of Obama’s Attorney General Officer Wilson was exonerated. Something nobody talks about is that, many thanks to our top officials refusing to strongly support the rule of law, there were bloody riots that spread across the country.
Fast forward to present time when our president, a life-long political office holder, is criticizing the process that I believe works and he has been a prominent part of for almost 50 years. He has voiced his opinion that he shares the anger of those who are not happy with the verdict. Again, I ask why!
Is it because he condones rioting? Is it because he believes it’s acceptable to destroy property if you disagree with a police action that is under investigation? Is it because he believes battery is acceptable? Is it the mob action he feels should have been ignored? He, and many other politicians seem to prefer all citizens cower under their beds while gangs of rioters and looters roam the street to vent their frustration after an action they disagree with. It will be a cold day in a place of punishment before I do that, just saying.
Read on, he’s not the only one.
According to (jttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rittenhouse-acquittal-reaction-highlights-nation-s-polarized-politics-republicans-claim-2nd-amendment-victory…) U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D IL) said, “In Black and Latino communities, we have long known that there’s a different set of rules for white Americans the Kyle Rittenhoouse verdict is further proof. Our justice system is broken.”
In response to Representative Garcia I say, “Isn’t it wonderful to get to a point in life where you can make unsubstantiated incendiary statements and nobody calls you out on it. I wonder who will be blamed when these riots break out? I suspect the media will not call Garcia out for making his unfounded remarks.
The same article quotes U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D IL) as saying the verdict was, “A horrible decision and a miscarriage of justice.” My answer is tha same as above- what about the verdict was wrong? Later Rush is quoted as saying, “It is clear the decks were stacked against the truth in this case. But I remain fully persuaded that truth will ultimately prevail.” That sounds, to me, like Rush is encouraging riots while saying don’t riot.
The article I cited above quotes former Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro as saying, “You know damn well that if Kyle Rittenhouse were Black he would have been found guilty in a heartbeat- or shot dead by cops on the scene.” To paraphrase Shakespeare, WHY DO I HATE THIS QUOTE, LET ME COUNT THE WAYS. We don’t know any such thing. These are the kind of slanderous statements with zero basis in fact that lead to riots. It seems these politicians must believe there is a strong plus side to stoking these fires of hatred. I also don’t like the profanity, is that necessary? Wasn’t he one of the woke politicians that said Trump didn’t act “presidential? Is it only after a person reaches the highest office in the land that they should start to act mature?
After the Democratic Mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot made a statement saying, “under our constitutional system, we must respect the jury’s decision;” she added, “however, no one should ever take the law into their own hands, or attempt to make themselves the judge, jury and executioner.” I see another Democratic politician saying, basically, you have every right to riot, like the summer of 2020, but please don’t.
Many other Democrats have come out against the verdict including IL State Sen. Robert Peters, Dem. U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, IL Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker, Democratic Alderwoman from Chicago Rossanna Rodriguez-Sanchez, Democratic MO Representative Cori Bush, Democratic WI Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes, Outgoing Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, WI Governor Tony Evers, there are many more, but my favorite is California Governor Gavin Newsom who claimed that “Rittenhouse still ‘br[[oke] the law,’ but that he ‘g[o]t away with it.” Hey, let’s just trash our judicial system and not offer any facts to back what is said- Where have I seen that before?
I believe there are many Americans who are quietly scratching their heads and vowing to never vote Democrat again; I hope there are.
Civil rights attorney Shavar Jeffries told THE HILL that the verdict “speaks to the dramatic differences in perspective people have, based on racial background, about justice in our country.” I would hate to have him representing me if he thinks Kyle should have been found guilty.
ABC News reported that they were told Reverend Jessie Jackson is working with congressional leaders to ask that the Department of Justice investigate the case for further prosecution. In the same article they reported that a release from Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition said that the Justice Department should also consider aiding and abetting charges for Rittenhouse’s mother. DID THEY NOT SEE THE VIDEOS? Oh, I forgot, it’s a favorite left-wing attack to just say it. It doesn’t have to be true. Just put it out there and let it build up in the media!
ABC also reported that Rainbow PUSH Coalition National Field Director, Bishop Grant, said “The verdict of not guilty is very revealing of the state of criminal justice in America.”
The New York Post quoted The Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker in a story entitled, TERRIFYING REAX TO RITTENHOUSE VERDICT. The story quotes Baker as saying the “unhinged reaction” to Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal offers “clarity about the real threat posed by the Democratic Party” and its fellow travelers. “The party’s leaders” and allies “emphasized their dismay” at the verdict paying “lip service” at best “to the idea that a jury’s decision should be respected.” This sees basic rights- presumption of innocence, due process, proof beyond a reasonable doubt-as not “bedrock legal protections” but inconveniences” that subvert the “more important objective of social justice” (the “armor with which the capitalist white supremacists protect their hegemony”) and so “can be dismissed.” the left wants “revolutionary justice, and if its reaction here “doesn’t scare you,” you “don’t understand what it represents. “
Only in current day America can a case of a White man who shoots three other White men after they attacked him with hands, a skate board and a loaded glock handgun become a racial issue.
Only in modern day America can this scenario turn into riots and demonstrations because that 17-year-old shooter with no criminal history killed two of his assailants and injured the third in an act of self-defense.
To add to the confusion, we learn that the assailants all had arrest records. Some of those arrests for serious felonies.
At the risk of sounding like a grumpy old man I would like to offer this simple thought. I wish life was still like the TV shows I used to watch on my parent’s old Philco. Do you remember when the guy protecting the land from the rustlers was obviously the good guy? When the people who came into town to start fires and loot were the bad guys? I still feel that’s true!
Well! Happy trails to you, until we meet again!
Thanks for reading this one to the end. I’m sorry it was so long, but there was actually a lot more I cut out.
I would like to hear your views on this topic.
Thanks, Phil
As always, if you liked this share it. If you don’t like it please comment and let me know why.