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Kenosha Shooting: Was Molotov cocktail thrown at the shooter by protesters? Internet says 'it was a paper bag'

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

A state of unrest still lingers in Kenosha. A 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.

He was arrested in less than a day after two people were killed and a third was seriously injured in the incident, reports CNN.  The shooting happened during a protest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, police said. The victims were identified as a 26-year-old from Silver Lake, Wisconsin and a 36-year-old from Kenosha. Even though several videos have been circulated on social media showing a man with a long gun, police haven’t yet confirmed that the person is Rittenhouse in these videos.

Investigation into the riots have brought out multiple theories with regards to the shooting. Sheriff David Beth, as reported by CNN, said the protesters were demonstrating in a peaceful manner until August 25 night, but after that allegedly people threw stones, bricks and molotov cocktails at the police. The report states that on August 25, Anadolu Agency photographer Tayfun Coskun had clicked a series of photos that shows a fight between an armed civilian and protesters. A video was shot by Brendan Gutenschwager, as per the report, which shows that after shots had already been fired, a man is walking down the street with a long gun when he falls to the ground. It further states that sirens were heard at a distance and the man who fired his weapon can be seen running toward police vehicles with his hands in the air, but the police drive past him. The report further states that people were heard yelling at officers that the man in the video shot people. When asked about the video, Beth, as per the report said he did not know what was going through the officers' minds but he assumed they were focused on something else.

The CNN report states Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers declared a state of emergency on August 25 after cars and buildings were torched and called in 250 members of the National Guard to assist. According to a New York Times report, the curfew in Kenosha will be in place from August 26, 7 pm, until Sunday, August 30. “It’s something we have to do,” Beth told NYT. Beth further stated, as per the report, that they are focusing an investigation on the group of men with guns outside the gas station and investigators were looking at a video taken just before the shooting.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump in two consecutive tweets stated, “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 added, “..TODAY, I will be sending federal law enforcement and the National Guard to Kenosha, WI to restore LAW and ORDER!”

Twitter was abuzz about the current developments. Some were trying to say that the alleged molotov cocktails that Beth said were thrown at the police were actually thrown at the shooter. One user said, "The left thinks the guy who shot someone in Kenosha shouldn’t of had the gun in the first place. But fail to acknowledge the Molotov cocktail or gun that the rioter had... Weird...."

Another said, "Looks like the "victim" chased the shooter and threw a lit molotov cocktail at him prior to the shooting. Self defense IMO."

Another claimed, "A viral video showing a molotov cocktail being thrown at the Kenosha shooter prior to him shooting a different person in the head appears to be manipulated. A plastic bag was thrown at him. It was not on fire. The video was first shared (to my knowledge) by @TheTenderOne."

However, others were sure that nothing like that happened. A user T. Greg Doucette tweeted, "There was no "Molotov cocktail" You're just regurgitating what someone put in a tweet, despite the video already being analyzed frame-by-frame – and you can see the unburnt bag on the ground in the video you commented on Molotovs use fire. They burn things."

Another said, "The white supremacy apologists are making up every lie imaginable to justify the terrorist attack carried out by #KyleRittenhouse in Kenosha last night.. The new lie is that someone threw a Molotov cocktail at him, and he killed people in self defense. It was a paper bag thrown."

One commented, "When a plastic bag is intentionally misconstrued as a “Molotov cocktail”, you know there’s a disinformation campaign being run. The Kenosha PD has a LOT to answer for, and must take responsibility for encouraging the militias activity last night. #BLM #KenoshaShooting."

MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) cannot independently verify and does not support any claims being made on the Internet.