During the third night of protests for Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, three people were shot—two killed and one wounded—by an Illinois teen, several media outlets reported today (August 26), including the New York Times.
The Times reports:
A court document from Lake County, Ill., shows that Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was arrested in Antioch, Ill., on Wednesday morning after being charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the fatal shooting that took place only hours earlier. Antioch is about 30 minutes southwest of Kenosha, just over the Illinois line. More details were expected during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
The City of Kenosha Police Department tweeted a statement that the “shooting investigation is active and ongoing.”
rn— Kenosha Police Dept. (@KenoshaPolice) August 26, 2020
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Several posters on social media had already started to share videos and photos of Rittenhouse, possibly actually showing the killing, and suggesting that he has ties to white supremacists who had the literal backing of the police. Criminal defense and civil rights attorney Rebecca Kavanagh tweeted a series of video posts that show police giving bottled water to armed white men and saying “we appreciate you guys, we really do,” over a speaker.
Cell phone video shows Kenosha Wisconsin police officers in an military vehicle telling armed White militia members they "appreciate them being there" and giving them bottled water; while in the background cops can be heard ordering protestors to disperse. pic.twitter.com/73SsfCUYWj
rn— Rebecca Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) August 26, 2020
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Three people were shot, one fatally, by White men with assault weapons in Kenosha tonight. Sheriff David Beth said in the aftermath, "This is why you don’t deputize citizens with guns to protect Kenosha.”
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rnBut in fact that is EXACTLY what his officers did.https://t.co/BNVK7fMYyUrn— Rebecca Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) August 26, 2020
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Others on Twitter have echoed their outrage over the blatantly violent racism that is escalating between white law enforcement, white militia and Black people. Some even identify the alleged shooter by name, age and state.
After a Black man was shot and paralyzed in Kenosha by white police, a white man with an AR-15 killed two protesters and wounded another in the same city. Racism combined with laws that encourage gun violence are enabling murder and mayhem with impunity. pic.twitter.com/DKW0ahQ6Ce
rn— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) August 26, 2020
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WATCH VIDEO!
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rnKyle Rittenhouse 17 years old
rnfrom Antioch, IL shoots a man in the head with an AR-15 & kills him in Kenosha. He also shot 2 more people killing 2.
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rnEvades street justice by running toward cops with an AR-15
rnAND the Police just let him go!
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rnpic.twitter.com/wpmBjLsGH3rn— kirk acevedo (@kirkacevedo) August 26, 2020
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An unarmed black man is shot in the back seven times by a white police officer.
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rnArmed vigilantes then apparently kill two anti-police brutality protestors in Kenosha last evening.
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rnCrickets from Trump and his sycophants.
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rnWhen will they condemn this lawless violence?
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rnPhonies.rn— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) August 26, 2020
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This is Kyle Rittenhouse, a white supremacist in Kenosha who shot multiple protestors last night. He killed one protestor.
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rnHe drove from Illinois pic.twitter.com/RB3dZ3Rq0orn— Hamdia Ahmed (@hamdia_ahmed) August 26, 2020
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White Supremacist Kyle Rittenhouse Shot and Killed Two Protesters in Kenosha With an AR-15; Watch The Cops Help Aid in His Escape as He as Allowed to Walk Right Past Them With Gun in Hand After Saying He Just Killed People (Tweets-Vids) https://t.co/HBC5WEOO7w pic.twitter.com/bCfF4nZvax
rn— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) August 26, 2020
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According to the Times, the protest was tense well before the city’s 8:00 p.m. curfew went into effect, with protestors launching water bottles, rocks and fireworks at the police outside of the courthouse and police responding with tear gas and rubber bullets. After curfew, when several remaining demonstrators shifted to a gas station, the Times reported that “a group of men with guns stood outside, promising to protect the property and verbally sparring with the arriving protesters.”
As Kenosha’s law enforcement scour video footage to identify the gunmen, sheriff David Beth told the Times, “I’ve had people saying, ‘Why don’t you deputize citizens?’ This is why you don’t deputize citizens with guns to protect Kenosha.”