The young American Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot dead two people and injured a third on the sidelines of anti-racist protests in August 2020 in Kenosha, was acquitted on Friday, November 19 after a well-attended trial in the United States.
Read alsoRittenhouse trial: two enemy Americas on trial
Twelve jurors in a Wisconsin state court declared him "
not guilty
" of the five charges against him, including murders, on the fourth day of their deliberations. The 18-year-old white man, who faced life imprisonment, had pleaded self-defense. Upon reading the verdict, he broke down in tears before quickly leaving the courtroom.
His trial exposed American society's fractures over guns, the right to self-defense, and the anti-racist movement Black Lives Matter (Black Lives Matter), and the verdict has, unsurprisingly, prompted backlash from others. antipodes.
New York Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted a “
denial of justice
”, while Republican Congresswoman Mary Miller tweeted: “
God bless America
”.
To avoid possible overflows, the governor of Wisconsin has asked 500 National Guard soldiers to stand ready to intervene in Kenosha.
"
I just defended myself
"
On August 23, 2020, this city in the Great Lakes region was set on fire after a police blunder against an African-American. Then aged 17, Kyle Rittenhouse had equipped himself with a semi-automatic rifle and had joined armed groups who had come to “
protect
” the businesses. Under confusing circumstances, he opened fire, killing two men and wounding a third.
"
I did nothing wrong, I just defended myself
", he pleaded, in tears, during his trial, assuring to have fired after being chased and attacked by these three men - all white like him. The accused was "
a tourist of chaos
" who "
sought excitement
" and "
voluntarily and knowingly put himself in a dangerous situation
", retorted prosecutor Thomas Binger in his indictment. Kyle Rittenhouse appeared free, supporters having paid the $ 2 million bail. The young man has indeed become a muse in certain right-wing circles for whom the great mobilization against police violence in the summer of 2020 was the work of"
Antifas
" or "
anarchists
”.
Read alsoTwo anti-racist protesters killed in Kenosha: the trial opens in the United States
Conversely, on the left, he embodies the excesses of the culture of arms and the right to self-defense.
On Twitter, the Black Lives Matter movement stressed that it was not surprised by the verdict.
"
The system works exactly as it's supposed to ... to protect white supremacy
."
"
It illustrates the urgent need for reform of the justice system and of our broken penal system,
" added Shaadie Ali, a representative of the powerful civil rights organization ACLU.
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