Kyle Rittenhouse: The Jury Got It Right and It’s So Wrong

(Deep Breath)

The Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal came out Friday afternoon and of course, no one was all that surprised, though some were angry and some elated. The conversation in my office got heated quickly and I left the room before I got too angry. I’m distraught about the verdict, but that’s not to say I think that the jury got it wrong. In fact, I kept saying to my wife that as screwed up as it is, Kyle Rittenhouse broke no laws.

Despite the conflicting stories, it turns out that it was entirely legal for a 17 year old to be open carrying an AR-15 into a highly populated area. This is problematic on several levels. One is that the gun was illegally purchased with Rittenhouse’s money by an older friend. That friend is facing charges related to that “straw purchase,” but somehow, it was not technically illegal for Rittenhouse to possess it. That part I don’t get. But as far as the law in that jurisdiction goes, it would have been illegal for Rittenhouse to carry a handgun at the age of 17 (typically 6-10 round capacity), but it was legal for him to carry an AR-15 rifle loaded with 30 rounds capable of doing significantly more damage. Ok, I don’t get that either, but that’s the law.

With the legality of his carrying established (sort of), it’s difficult to argue that anything he did that night was not in self-defense. I do think the protesters who confronted and fought him were very misguided in their actions. There are no positive outcomes from doing what they did. Though, I have to point out that this little punk went in looking for a fight (don’t try), but wasn’t man enough to take a beating. The presence of the gun was the only factor that caused loss of life that night. He wouldn’t have acted like a tough guy had he not been carrying it. And probably wouldn’t have been there in the first place. Parents? But once the fight started, it’s not unreasonable to assume a fear of loss of life when someone is trying to disarm you. And those attacking him were chasing him and could have easily let him go.

I am not excusing Kyle Rittenhouse, just illustrating the legality of the issues. His acquittal is more of a testimony to screwed up law than anything else. And I could write an entire additional piece on how we’ve seen people of color killed or locked up for far lesser charges (see Shaneen Allen). But that does bring me to another point. Law Enforcement. For all of their flaws, we need responsible law enforcement.

Rittenhouse’s excuse was that he was on location to do the job of law enforcement. The problem is that he has none of their training, nor does he have to abide by their rules for use of force (especially against unarmed individuals). Please don’t think that I am saying that Police or other law enforcement do not have history of targeting, abuse of power, corruption, or other issues. But they are also held to standards that civilians are not. If Kyle Rittenhouse had been a police officer, how might that have changed the situation? I know that this is a problematic issue. The protests were over police brutality in the first place. But holy shit does the idea of crowds of gun wielding, unregulated vigilantes getting whipped up by OAN scare me more. Law should prohibit this kind of behavior. And people who claim to support the police and the military for that matter, should let them do their jobs.

I am a gun owner. But the thought of a highschooler (or anyone) walking down Market Street with an AR-15 is far from appealing. In fact, I think every reasonable person would be calling the police to warn them of a potential mass shooting. But if they responded, “Nope, totally legal. We can’t do anything until he actually starts shooting people.” I think we’d lose our collective minds. But that’s what we have here as far as the law goes. PA allows “open carry” but not by minors. Rittenhouse’s actions, had they been in PA, would have illegal, and the gun provider would have been charged with a third degree felony. What the hell, Wisconsin?

As much as the verdict pains me, I have to look at this situation and say that the system did not fail. It worked exactly as it is intended to. Rittenhouse had good lawyers (including the judge) and the prosecutors did not heap on additional charges as they often do to people without the means for high quality representation. Incredible to think of kids like the Central Park 5 who were wrongfully convicted and sentenced based on forced and retracted testimony. I wonder if all of the right-wing pundits who are now saying the media should be sued for their coverage, remember that Donald Trump took out a full page ad calling for the execution of these boys.

I think the saddest thing of all is that, at best, Rittenhouse was misguided and got caught in a really bad situation. Instead of somberly saying, “What an unfortunate mess. We really hope people learn from this and don’t try to take the law into their own hands,” the right has said “what a victory for gun rights,” and celebrated by sending an AR-15 to a kid who acted on stand like he was traumatized by the incident (attorney called it PTSD). If that scenario is something you would want or encourage for your teenager, there is something deeply wrong with you.

Somehow, I have a feeling Rittenhouse will not disappear quietly. He is being manipulated into some kind of right wing hero and will be speaking at conservative conferences until he is so enabled that he does or says something “shocking” that they can’t publicly support. Then he’ll be dropped like a spent cartridge with no one left who really cares.