Black Lives Matter-killer Kyle Rittenhouse was just found not guilty on all counts. The Fox News celebration of vigilantism is about to begin.
As I’ve previously said, it’s not so much that I care whether Rittenhouse was convicted or jailed or not, it’s that Fox's right-wing champions of violence against the left have just gotten a perceived green light. And make no mistake, that’s why the Foxies really love Rittenhouse. America-hating, anti-semitic authoritarian-loving and white supremacist-loving Tucker Carlson spilled the beans during his early adoration of the killer:
CARLSON: Chaos that began with the first George Floyd protest on Memorial Day has reached its inevitable and bloody conclusion.
...
CARLSON: We do know why it all happened though. Kenosha is devolved into anarchy because the authorities in charge of the city abandoned it.
People in charge from the Governor of Wisconsin on down refused to enforce the law. They stood back and they watched Kenosha burn.
So are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder? How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would?
…
CARLSON: "Kill the police," "Death to America." That's not Iran. It's Wisconsin. It could have been a dozen other places in this country, the violence has been building unabated for three months now.
Every day, the mob becomes more radical.
Fox News shill, I mean legal contributor Jonathan Turley overlooked all the previous cheerleading of Rittenhouse on Fox (links above) and accused the rest of the media of “recklessness in the coverage.”
Turley claimed the media were “surprised” to find out Rittenhouse was “working that day to take graffiti off of buildings." He neatly overlooked how graffiti's good-Samaritan Rittenhouse was also packing an assault rifle. But also overlooking Fox's Rittenhouse cheerleaders, Turley added that the rest of the media made for “a dangerous disconnect for society” that “causes this rage.” Unlike the hate mongering that constitutes Fox News prime time, eh, Turley?
Predictably, Turley commended the verdict and blasted the “array of prosecutorial blunders and, in my view, misconduct” without saying a word about the defense assists from the judge. Turley made the dubious claim that the prosecutors had no credibility with the jury. If that were the case, I would think it would not have taken several days for them to reach a verdict.
Not that host John Roberts provided any balance. He agreed with Turley that there had been “a lot of inaccuracies” from the rest of the media, which he promised to discuss with right-wing hate monger Miranda Devine “coming up.”
"No one comes out of this a winner and this isn’t approval of everything that Rittenhouse did," Turley said at the end of the segment. Which completely overlooks how his own network will spin it.
Carlson, Rittenhouse-loving Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro and the rest of the MAGA crowd must surely be doing the happy dance now. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rittenhouse gets a Fox News contract. Or maybe an internship with Rep. Jim Banks, where Tucker’s son, Buckley Carlson, works. Or maybe a job with Rep. Paul Gosar.
You can watch the early spin below, from the November 19, 2021 America Reports.
Also, because I hate misinformation, I will repeat: Killer Kyle’s gun was in Kenosha and he did not take it across state lines. This New Yorker article explains what happened and is the best article I have read about everything that happened and its context.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/07/05/kyle-rittenhouse-american-vigilante
That doesn’t make what Rittenhouse did any better but it makes his intent slightly murkier.
Ultimately, I agree with Jeff Ryan that this was a difficult case. But I also agree with everyone else that the acquittal will likely spark more vigilante killings.
I don’t expect things will work out well in the long run for Kyle. He’ll probably be facing law suits for years to come. Who knows how long the right-wing money and support will last? They’ve already gotten what they wanted out of him.
I’m pretty pessimistic right now, seeing little hope for a peaceful way out of the abject mess being created by the likes of that judge. I’m terrified at the thought that this verdict will be understood by the RW gun-toting crazies as a declaration of open season on minorities, on women, on peaceful protests, and on progressives in general.
In Italy, during the 1920s and 1930s, Mussolini’s goon squads terrified many Italians into thinking that their safest bet was to submit. The majority were too absorbed by the struggle to feed and clothe their families and they did not have access to weapons apart from knives and the occasional hunting rifle. I wonder how long it will take for the RW to realise that the 2nd Amendment is valid for both sides?
When you can’t count on the police to uphold law and order in that event but possibly join in, may be they felt they had no choice.
It’s like watching the fall of the Roman Empire with the barbarians sweeping in, picking off weak areas of leadership, one battle at a time.
Hope justice prevails in GA and Charlottesville. I’m shallow breathing until the verdicts come down.
Unfortunately, the trial was likely to result in either this odd verdict or a mistrial after all the misconduct by the judge. It would be helpful to see that judge brought to account by the Wisconsin Bar Association, but that sadly will prove unlikely.
And we will now see a continuing spike in violence, particularly with the assault weapons enjoyed by people like Rittenhouse, who will now feel emboldened to open fire when they feel like it.
Second, Wisconsin self-defense law sucks. Hell, Wisconsin law itself sucks.
This was never a good case.