17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and injured Gaige Grosskreutz during protests against the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Aug. 25. Despite being caught on camera and being charged with two felony counts of homicide and weapon offenses, Rittenhouse posted bail and was released from custody on Nov. 20.
On the day of the shooting, Rittenhouse was armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. He claimed that he went to Kenosha with the intention of protecting businesses from vandalism. During the protest, Rittenhouse walked down the streets with his rifle in hand. The criminal complaint stated that Rosenbaum, Huber and Grosskreutz were not carrying any weapons and were attempting to disarm Rittenhouse when shot.
Following the shootings, Rittenhouse turned himself in and is now facing two felony charges of homicide in the death of Rosebaum and Huber, a felony charge of attempted homicide in the shooting of Grosskreutz and a misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous weapon as a minor.
Considering him as a flight risk, Court Commissioner Loren Keating decided to enforce a $2 million cash bond for bail.
Rittenhouse was able to post bail because of the people who crowdfunded for his legal defense. Rittenhouse’s case was appealing to these people because his actions promoted many beliefs in right-wing conservatism, such as protestors being anarchists and people having the right to protect themselves with their guns, that are often belittled by liberals and in the popular media.
People rallied for Rittenhouse, believing that he acted in self defense, and fundraised money for his bail. On the Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo, people raised $578,786 for Rittenhouse.
“There will be total transparency on part of #FightBack Foundation. To date, 11,254 donors have donated a total of $605,550 toward the Foundation’s efforts to fund defense of Kyle Rittenhouse & help support & protect his family,” Rittenhouse’s attorney Lin Wood tweeted.
Other prominent funders to his bail included actor Ricky Schroeer and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, both of whom contributed significant funds, reported the WBBM. At the height of the fundraising frenzy for Rittenhouse, GoFundMe removed campaigns created in support of him and refunded all donations in the claim that their terms and services were violated.
Rittenhouse should not have been allowed bail in the first place; he should have been remanded in prison until his trial. He killed two unarmed people as he paraded the streets of Kenosha with his AR-15 rifle in hand, as shown in this video. He did not kill in the act of self defense. According to the complaint, all Rosenbaum did was throw a plastic bag, Huber was simply carrying a skateboard and Grosskreutz had his hands in the air when approaching Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse was the one with the power that night.
Furthermore, Rittenhouse has no remorse for his actions.
“I feel I had to protect myself … I would have died that night if I didn’t,” Rittenhouse said in an interview with the Washington Post.
However, Rosenbaum, Huber and Grosskreutz approached him because of the AR-15 rifle he was confidently carrying, imposing a serious threat to the public.
If he had not brought the rifle to the protest, no one would have approached him in the first place and the death of two people and an injury would have been prevented. However, it is clear that Rittenhouse would have done the same thing all over again if given the chance.
Due to the white privilege that steeps within our judicial system, Rittenhouse was able to obtain bail as he declared that the shooting was in the act of self-defense. Black men are not afforded the same luxury as white men like Rittenhouse. Statistically, Black and brown people are often detained for small offenses like traffic violations or drug possessions and are unable to crowdfund like Rittenhouse. For what reason couldn’t Keating remand Rittenhouse, a person who has been charged with two counts of felony homicide and a count of felony attempted homicide and, in a video, is seen firing his AR-15, until trial? Unsurprisingly, everything truly comes down to what the color of your skin is.
Anmol Gill is an Opinion Intern for the fall 2020 quarter. She can be reached at anmolkg@uci.edu.