A jury found the suspect of a high-profile murder case, teenage Kyle Rittenhouse, not guilty of all charges on Friday, in a trial that stemmed from the 2020 shootings that resulted in the death of two people and severe injury of another after protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
It was Friday afternoon, three and a half days after the start of deliberations, that the jury delivered its verdict. Rittenhouse's trial had already lasted for three weeks in the widely followed murder case.
Not Guilty Verdict
As the jury read the not guilty verdict aloud, the suspect, who was 17 years old at the time of the shootings, briefly fell to the floor before tearing up and hugging his defense attorney. During the incident, Rittenhouse carried an AR-style semi-automatic rifle on the streets of Kenosha as chaotic protests took place.
The teenager opened fire on demonstrators, killing two men, Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber while injuring another, Gaige Grosskreutz. The prosecution charged Rittenhouse with five felony counts stemming from the shootings, including first-degree intentional homicide, which has a mandatory life imprisonment sentence, Yahoo News reported.
The decision instantly drew mixed reactions from the courtroom, including disappointment as the uncle of Jacob Blake, the man who was shot and left paralyzed and was the center of the protests in Kenosha, said that what was done in the court was "heinous."
Additionally, Blake's attorney, B'lvory LaMarr, said that the jury's acquittal of Rittenhouse of all charges in his murder trial set a "dangerous precedent." He warned that the decision could "embolden" others.
LaMarr referenced the case that his client faced where a police officer shot him in the back seven times and was never charged. The attorney said that the United States judicial system treated Black and White Americans differently, CNN reported.
Mixed Reactions
The not-guilty verdict also drew reactions from the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee who posted a statement that contained misinformation about incidents. In a Twitter post, Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney said that it was despicable for Rittenhouse to be able to carry a loaded assault rifle into the protests of the unjust killing of Blake, who was unarmed, and kill two people while injuring another.
However, Blake is still alive and not dead, only paralyzed, and was not unarmed during the incident, having in his hand a knife. The police officer who shot Blake was responding to the domestic disturbance that was called in and was never charged in the case.
Blake admitted to being armed during the encounter with police officers who responded to the call that was made by his wife. He said he tried to pick up the knife that he dropped after he was tased by officers.
Later, a second version of the DCCC's statement was released and referred to the "unjust" shooting of Blake. The new version removed the official's claims that the man was killed and that he was unarmed during the tussle with police. DCCC Senior Adviser of Strategic Outreach Dyjuan Tatro made the new post and said that Maloney's statement did not "mince words," Fox News reported.
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