Acquittal sparks scattered protests; updates

The acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse triggered widespread protests in major cities Friday night as protesters called the decision a disruption of the symptom, symptomatic of major flaws in the justice system.

The jury acquitted Rittenhouse, 18, on all charges after his legal team argued he acted in self-defense when he shot three men, two fatally, in a protest against racial justice last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The case has increased the division in a polarized nation. Protesters say the handling of the case would have been very different if the defendant was black.

From the outset, the trial was linked to issues of systemic racism in the justice system, as activists compared police treatment of Rittenhouse to their treatment of Jacob Blake, a black man paralyzed from the waist down after he was shot by a white Kenosha police officer, sparking protests last year.

“You can really smell and see the underlying systemic racism that is in the justice system and the police system,” Justin Blake, Jacob Blake’s uncle, said after the verdict.

In an interview with CNN after the verdict, Rittenhouse’s attorney, Mark Richards, said Rittenhouse was not legally doing anything wrong. When asked if Rittenhouse felt he was doing something morally wrong, Richards said, “He wished he didn’t have to.”

“Kyle said, ‘If I had to do it all over again and had any idea something similar was going to happen, I would not do it,'” Richards told CNN. evening under these circumstances. Backwardness is always 20/20. “

Rittenhouse will give an exclusive interview to Fox News’s Tucker Carlson airing Monday night. announced the network.

Judgments:Kyle Rittenhouse is not guilty of any charges of murder, reckless endangerment

Self-defense or deadly overreaction ?:In a nation filled with weapons and racial segregation, it is often hard to say.

‘Absolutely no words’:Gabrielle Union, Megyn Kelly, several celebrities react to the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict

Protesters gather in cities across the country

Protesters took to the streets in cities across the country to express their opposition to the jury’s verdict.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers put 500 members of the National Guard on standby in Kenosha before the verdict was announced. But the protests remained peaceful and there were no major clashes in the city on Friday night and early Saturday, writes the Washington Post.

“This fight, this fight is far from over,” a local pastor, Pastor Monica Cummings, told the crowd at a Friday night prayer in Kenosha.

“Love has called us here today,” she said, holding up a sign with the words “Heal Kenosha.”

“Love called us on the street back in August 2020. Love called us to show up for any action.”

These were Kyle Rittenhouse’s casualties: Anthony Huber, Joseph Rosenbaum, Gaige Grosskreutz

Rittenhouse speaks:Fox News’ Tucker Carlson lands a Kyle Rittenhouse interview to air Monday night

In Portland, the police declared riots Friday night said a group of 10 to 20 people tried to break into the city’s Justice Center and threatened to “burn it down”. said police a sergeant’s car window was smashed along with the windows of a printing house. An arrest was made, as well as five quotes and 17 warnings.

Hundreds of protesters also gathered in a row demonstrations in New York City, among others, outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where signs with the words “No Justice in the Capitalist Courts” and “Only Revolution Can Bring Justice” waved over their heads.

Dozens at two protests in downtown Chicago rejected the verdict, and another protest is scheduled in the city Saturday night. Two dozen people protested in a park in downtown San Diego, It informs CBS. And more than 100 people gathered in downtown Oakland, California, It reported the NBC Bay Area.

Following Rittenhouse’s acquittal, civil rights activists expressed concern about the safety of people protesting against the verdict as a result of right-wing groups. Rev. Jesse Jackson said it could be “open season for human rights protesters” and warned protesters to be careful.

Kyle Rittenhouse’s verdict:From ‘Judicial system broken’ to ‘Judicial system worked’

These were the victims:Anthony Huber, Joseph Rosenbaum, Gaige Grosskreutz

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris is reacting to the verdict

President Joe Biden told reporters Friday that he stood by the verdict and said “the jury system works.”

In a later statement, he called on Americans to “express their views peacefully.”

“While the Kenosha ruling will make many Americans feel angry and worried, including myself, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken,” he said.

During a Friday visit to Columbus, Ohio, Vice President Kamala Harris said she was disappointed in the acquittal in the Kyle Rittenhouse case.

“I’m disappointed with the verdict, I have to tell you,” Harris said. “I think it speaks for itself. But I’ve also spent most of my career on what we need to do to make sure the criminal justice system is fairer and fairer, and we still have a lot of work to do. to do.”

Among countless more legislators, celebrities and high-profile individuals reacting to the verdict, US Rep. Jerry Nadler, DN.Y., called for a federal review of the case.

“This heartbreaking verdict is a failure of justice and sets a dangerous precedent that justifies federal review by the DOJ. Justice cannot tolerate gunmen crossing state borders looking for trouble while people engage in a first change-protected protest.” Nadler wrote on Twitter.

‘Immovable super-citizens’:Will the Rittenhouse judgment boost vigilance – or a necessary step towards more freedom

Opinion:Kyle Rittenhouse defended himself by using a gun he was entitled to carry

Starring: Christal Hayes, Ryan Miller and Grace Hauck, USA TODAY; Annysa Johnson, Mark Johnson and Talis Shelbourne, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Associated Press

Contact News now Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.