California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf blasted a Wisconsin jury's acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on all charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, on Friday. The Democratic lawmakers argued the decision will embolden armed vigilantes.
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, killed two unarmed men and shot a third man, who was armed, during protests of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was left paralyzed from the waist down, last August in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A jury on Friday acquitted Rittenhouse of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
Newsom tweeted Friday that the decision sends a dangerous message.
“America today: you can break the law, carry around weapons built for a military, shoot and kill people, and get away with it,” Newsom wrote. “That’s the message we’ve just sent to armed vigilantes across the nation.”
Rittenhouse, who is white, joined a group of armed protestors in Kenosha on August 25, amid unrest in the city following the spread of video of Blake's shooting, which was released three months after George Floyd, a Black man, was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer. The teenager testified he acted in self-defense and feared for his life when he fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, Anthony Huber, 26, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, who’s now 27.
At a press conference on Friday, Schaaf said "everything about this verdict is disturbing." She echoed Newsom's worry that it gives license to vigilantes, adding that is further proof the U.S. criminal justice system gives preferential treatment to white people.
"This verdict condones vigilantism," Schaaf said. "It furthers white privilege, and it feels like another data point that our justice system is broken."
Oakland Rising, a social justice organization, said Friday it would participate in a protest at 6 p.m. in the city. The demonstration, organized by All of Us or None and Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, will call upon the U.S. Department of Justice to "take action immediately" in the aftermath of the verdict. The protest will take place at 14th Street and Broadway, right around the corner from Frank H. Ogawa Plaza and Oakland City Hall.
Schaaf said the city expects its "streets to remain peaceful," but will be "prepared" following previous "unfortunate incidents of violence and vandalism." In statements to KCBS Radio, police departments in Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose continue to monitor the situation and remain in contact with federal and local law enforcement partners.
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