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OPINION
By Clyde Hughes | AC JosepH Media
The Kyle Rittenhouse verdict Friday should come as no surprise to anyone who had even a passing interest in the trial – everyone from the judge to virtually everyone outside of the social justice movement wanted to find him not guilty on all charges.
The baby-faced Rittenhouse shot and killed two people and injured a third in the name of self-defense in a situation he alone created. Even though he was the one carrying the lethal weapon, an AR-15, his defense attorneys got jurors to believe he was the one in the fear of his life.
The message sent by the verdict can be no clear: It is open season on social justice protesters and activists the next the protest occur. The "self-defense" shield is ready and available to use for vigilantes who decide to take up weapons against protesters. Regardless of if they actually have something to defend.
Remember, Rittenhouse traveled with friends from Illinois to Kenosha, Wis. to protect property. Whose property? That was never established. He nor his family have no property in Kenosha. Who or what are they actually protecting?
Rittenhouse was a teenage vigilante over his head in a emotionally charged situation with a deadly military-style weapon in his hand. If there is anyone who sees something good resulting from this picture, please tell me because the results were almost predictable.
Now that no one will be held accountable for the only lives lost in the Black Lives Matter protests over the police-involved shooting of Jacob Blake, what will happen the next time protests happen. While right-wing militants become more embolden to fill the street with weapons against protesters. Probably so.
Will protesters fearing this, begin carrying their own weapons and feel more justified now to use the knowledge that their opponents have law and courts on their side?
Don't be surprised if the same scenario happens in Georgia in the Ahmaud Arbery case. Defendants who shot Aubrey in cold blood, claim self-defense too, even though Aubrey was unarmed while they had not just one but two weapons on them.
Fascinating when you think about it. The person with the weapon facing the person without a weapon claims to be in fear of their lives. That's in impressive legal sleight of hand.
In the Rittenhouse case, you will hear, "what about the burning of buildings and businesses." Violence is never the answer or justification for any situation, whether you are a protester or bystander. Full stop. But there was no role for Rittenhouse to be deputized to take matters into his own hands. That's for law enforcement and those with the training, skills and authority to resolve.
Rittenhouse had none of these, yet he managed to be the only person to take a life (two) in everything that happened in Kenosha last year.
Let's not forget Judge Bruce Schroeder in the Rittenhouse case, who before the trial even started declared the shooting victims could not be called "victims" in court, but indeed could be called "looters" and "rioters." The fix was in from the start.
Martin Luther King Jr. said in an interview, "I think that we've got to see that a riot is the language of the unheard." He was relating it to the public responding to the lack of action taken for social justice. The Rittenhouse verdict will have a chilling effect on making sure those voices remain unheard – or else.
Bio: Award-winning veteran journalist Clyde Hughes is the founder and editor of Front Runner New Jersey.com and FRNJ Extra. He also serves as editor of the South Jersey Journal and AC Journal. He is a freelancer who contributes regularly to United Press International and NJ.com among others.
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