He was also white. His trial next week, however, will be closely watched by many as it is the latest referendum about race and the American legal system.
Justin Blake, a Black man who was the key to the case’s backstory, said “Make the connection.” “This is clearly Black-white.”
Rittenhouse was just 17 years old when he used an AR style semiautomatic rifle to kill 2 people and injure 3 others during the summer 2020. According to Rittenhouse, he had traveled to Kenosha to protect his property from protesters, who marched the streets angered by the shooting of Jacob Blake in the back by a Kenosha white officer.
Rittenhouse could face the equivalent of murder or attempted murder charges and could spend life in prison. Rittenhouse claims he fired in self defense after being attacked by protesters.
He received significant support from gun rights supporters and opponents of Black Lives Matter. Two million dollars was raised by pro-gun conservatives to pay for his bail and legal defence. He was photographed after he was released from jail with members of the far-right Proud Boys.
Justin Blake stated that Rittenhouse’s escape would send a warning message to Black America.
The uncle stated, “If our country shows you can shoot Caucasians supporting us, then this nation can never stand up at any international or global hearing to talk about human rights.” He stated that Rittenhouse’s release would allow white people to “ride down all African American communities and have fun, just like you’re hunting or something.”
Rittenhouse’s lawyers claim he isn’t a white supremacist and his defense fund says he wasn’t part of any militia group.
Some activists see a double standard in the treatment of the Rittenhouse and Blake cases.
Blake was paralysed at his SUV’s door and shot seven times while his children were in the back seat. According to police, Rusten Sheskey, two officers responding to a domestic disturbance, tried to arrest Blake on an outstanding warrant. During a scuffle, Blake lost his pocketknife.
Blake claimed that he took the knife and was ready to surrender it once he had put it in his car. He was taken to the hospital and police temporarily handcuffed him to his mattress. The state prosecutors refused to file charges against the officer because the knife was sufficient to support Sheskey’s claim that he was acting in self-defense. Federal prosecutors declined to bring charges.
Rittenhouse received a different response from law enforcement
He and others were armed, and claimed to be protecting the city’s homes and businesses after two nights of unrest in Kenosha and weeks of violent protests in the United States over George Floyd’s police shooting in Minneapolis.
Rittenhouse and other armed individuals were seen on the streets by law enforcement officers that night, despite the citywide curfew. They were handed water bottles and they also saw Rittenhouse. One officer could be heard saying “We appreciate you guys” through a loudspeaker.
Joseph Rosenbaum, who was a participant in the protests chased Rittenhouse through a used car lot before fatally shooting him. Rittenhouse was seen then running onto the street, with protesters following him.
Anthony Huber, a man of unknown origin, struck Rittenhouse with his skateboard. Rittenhouse shot and killed him. Seconds later Gaige Grosskreutz, a man named Anthony Huber, walked towards Rittenhouse and pulled out a gun. Rittenhouse then shot him in the arm.
People tried to flag Rittenhouse as the shooter to police officers, but he was not stopped. He slung his weapon over his shoulder and waved his hands at a police officer.
He surrendered to police in Antioch, Illinois, hours later.
“What looms over this trial is the whole notion that there are two justice systems, one in Black America and one in white America,” stated Blake family attorney Ben Crump. Crump was a civil rights lawyer who also represented Ahmaud and Trayvon Martin’s families. Both were killed in what prosecutors called acts of vigilantism.
Crump stated, “I think there is this idea that some people have the right solve all disagreements with a gun.” Crump said, “And especially when we see people protesting the killing of Blacks, we don’t have the obligation to respect their First Amendment rights.”
The judge in Rittenhouse’s case ruled one week before trial that defense and prosecutors cannot refer to the men who were killed as “victims”, but that they can call them “rioters or looters” if there is evidence. Black activists were furious at the ruling, pointing out that it was another example of racial discrimination in the judicial system.
Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson is co-executive Director of the Highlander Research and Education Center and leader of Movement for Black Lives. Rittenhouse said that he left home in the hope of displacing “vigilante justice” for the sake so-called protecting buildings and business at the cost of human life.
Henderson stated, “To not refer to the people directly impacted by those ‘victims” is nothing but the tenets and unjust laws of white supremacy.”
