Kyle Rittenhouse: Riots Erupt Following Not Guilty Verdict
Riots have erupted in Portland, Oregon following the controversial verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, with several protests also being sparked across the country.
On Friday, November 19, Rittenhouse, was found not guilty after facing five felony charges including first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree intentional homicide.
On August 25, 2020, aged 17, Rittenhouse travelled 20 miles to protests that had broken out over the shooting of Jacob Blake. Here, the teenager fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and injured Gaige Grosskreutz using an AR-15-style rifle.
Following Rittenhouse’s acquittal on Friday, protests broke out in several cities across the country.
In New York, around 300 people marched from the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn to the Brooklyn Bridge and into lower Manhattan on Friday, according to the Independent.
Meanwhile, protests in Portland prompted officials to declare a riot. Amid roughly 200 protesters, a group of around ’10 to 20′ broke windows and tossed objects at police, according to Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.
6 months agoAfter the group began ‘tampering with’ a gate outside the Multnomah County Justice Center, the law enforcement agency declared a riot.
In Chicago, between 60 and 100 protesters marched from the Federal Plaza downtown to Michigan Avenue and Madison Street before being stopped by police, CBS Chicago reports.
The protests have pointed out the imbalance in the US criminal justice system and some have warned it could set a precedent for vigilante violence on protesters calling for equality. One sign from the Brooklyn protest read ‘open season on civil disobedience and protests’.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact Stop Hate UK by visiting their website www.stophateuk.org/talk
