REALITY TV
TV
MOVIES
MUSIC
CELEBRITY
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Accuracy & Fairness Corrections & Clarifications Ethics Code Your Ad Choices
© MEAWW All rights reserved
MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

Kyle Rittenhouse: Who is the 17-year-old Illinois shooter charged with murder for killing 2 Kenosha protesters?

The White supremacist who opened fire at Jacob Blake protesters, killing two and injuring one, has been identified and arrested amid uproar on social media
UPDATED AUG 26, 2020
Kenosha, Wisconsin (Getty Images)
Kenosha, Wisconsin (Getty Images)

ANTIOCH, ILLINOIS: The 17-year-old teenager who had allegedly opened fire on the third day of protests in the city against the shooting of Jacob Blake has reportedly been identified and charged with first-degree murder. Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested in Antioch, Illinois in relation to the Kenosha shooting and is expected to appear in court later this week for extradition. He is currently jailed in Lake County, Illinois.

A report in TMZ quoted the court records and said that the accused faced homicide-related charges. Since the teenager's identity has been released, the Internet has slammed the government for perpetrating police brutality, the Kenosha Police Department as well for colluding with white civilians holding rifles. Many posted videos in which Kenosha police is allegedly colluding with civilians, as they state that they appreciate the presence of the said civilians, all armed. It is speculated that Rittenhouse is one such civilian.

One Twitter user posted a video featuring a question and answer session with Rittenhouse that lasted a minute long in which he confesses that he doesn't have non-lethal and also said that he is ready to defend the property. The user wrote, "This is Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, an Illinois resident who was just charged with first-degree murder of two people last night in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This teen, whose social media history is full of misogyny and white supremacy, had easy access to an AR-15."



 

Another user commented, "If last night’s shooter in Kenosha were Black, we’d be getting wall-to-wall detailed coverage about it. We won’t get that because the shooter is white & there’s video of police cavorting with the armed white men. It’s only “outside agitators” when it’s people protesting racism."



 

Dan Whitfield, Independent Candidate of Arkansas also tweeted, "This is Kyle Rittenhouse. He's not from Wisconsin, he's from Illinois. He went to Kenosha with a rifle to kill people. This is what a domestic terrorist looks like and this is what Trumpism is doing to American children. @SenTomCotton open your eyes to the real terrorists!"



 

Another user spoke about how Rittenhouse had ended up at the protest in the first place and alleged that he joined a militia group that was organized on Facebook and wrote, "BREAKING: the killer in Kenosha was a 17-year-old white boy from IL, who joined a militia group organized on Facebook and spread on further on InfoWars. A police officer chatted with Rittenhouse, and threw him a bottle of water prior to the shooting."



 

Shaun King, who just hours prior had warned the Kenosha Police Department that he dox officers of their department unless the identity of the one who shot Jacob Blake was not revealed also commented about the militia that had arrived at Kenosha to support the police. He said, "Look at this white supremacist. He says that police told him that they would push protestors in Kenosha toward them, and then leave. And they did just that. Then they murdered 2 men."



 

In the meanwhile, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to announce that he will be sending the National Guard to Kenosha to maintain law and order. He shared, "We will NOT stand for looting, arson, violence, and lawlessness on American streets. My team just got off the phone with Governor Evers who agreed to accept federal assistance (Portland should do the same!)..." 

He also added, "...TODAY, I will be sending federal law enforcement and the National Guard to Kenosha, WI to restore LAW and ORDER!"



 

Jacob Blake was reportedly shot several times in the back as he had tried to enter a car in which three of his kids were seated. The "officer-involved shooting", according to BBC happened while the Kenosha police responded to a domestic incident. According to Blake's lawyer who was quoted, the victim had been in the middle of "de-escalating a domestic incident" when the police had drawn their weapon. This incident caused the Kenosha public to gather in protest of police brutality which took a violent turn on Tuesday night. 

POPULAR ON MEAWW
MORE ON MEAWW