Biden ‘angry and concerned’ about the Rittenhouse verdict, pledges Wisconsin 'any assistance needed to ensure public safety'
President Joe Biden said he is "angry and concerned" over the verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial following a jury's decision to acquit the Illinois teenager of all charges Friday afternoon.
What happened?
In a statement issued Friday afternoon, the president legitimized the feelings of outrage that some may have in response to the not-guilty verdict but asked Americans to acknowledge the fact that the "jury has spoken."
Biden also requested that those upset over the trial's outcome "express their views peacefully," adding that "violence and destruction have no place in our democracy." Nevertheless, he pledged to the state of Wisconsin "any assistance needed to ensure public safety," as many fear the verdict could spark more rioting in Kenosha and across the country.
Below is the statement in full:
While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken. I ran on a promise to bring Americans together, because I believe that what unites us is far greater than what divides us. I know that we're not going to heal our country's wounds overnight, but I remain steadfast in my commitment to do everything in my power to ensure that every American is treated equally, with fairness and dignity, under the law.
I urge everyone to express their views peacefully, consistent with the rule of law. Violence and destruction of property have no place in our democracy. The White House and Federal authorities have been in contact with Governor Evers's office to prepare for any outcome in this case, and I have spoken with the Governor this afternoon and offered support and any assistance needed to ensure public safety.
What else?
Arriving back at the White House after undergoing a routine colonoscopy at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the president initially told reporters, "I stand by what the jury has concluded. The jury system works and we have to abide by it."
During the brief exchange, Biden declined to reiterate claims he made last year describing Rittenhouse as a white supremacist, Axios reported.
After 26 hours of deliberation, jurors found Rittenhouse not guilty on five counts Friday — including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree attempted intentional homicide, and two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.
Biden's reasoned initial response as the sitting president stands in complete contrast to remarks he made as a presidential candidate last September shortly after the incidents occurred.
Long before the facts of the case had been investigated, Biden tweeted a derogatory video that flashed images of Rittenhouse carrying an AR-15, and above the video, he wrote, "There's no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night."
When asked about the president's remarks during Rittenhouse's trial this week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki refused to denounce "the president's past comments," but added, "We shouldn't have, broadly speaking, vigilantes patrolling our communities with assault weapons."
Why does it matter?
The president's most recent statement will hopefully serve to disarm widespread negative reaction to Rittenhouse's acquittal, which many fear will spark more rioting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and elsewhere around the country.
But bringing peace and calm was far from the president's mind last year when he joined his Democratic counterparts in Congress and in the media to foment anger and push the unfounded narrative that branded Rittenhouse a white supremacist vigilante.
His words have not been forgotten.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton tweeted on Friday that Biden should "publicly apologize" to Rittenhouse. And during the trial, the teen's mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, left open the option of suing Biden for defamation.
"Our lawyers are gonna handle that," she said when asked by Fox News reporters if her son's defense team would file lawsuits against powerful Americans such as Biden for "interfering in the justice system" and "defaming" her son.
Later, she suggested that Biden defamed her son "for the votes."
BREAKING: Jury finds Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts
A jury of 12 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, found 18-year-old accused murderer Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts Tuesday afternoon, marking a conclusive end to the most high-profile case to arise from last year's violent spree of Black Lives Matter riots.
The jury gave the verdict Friday afternoon after nearly four days of deliberation, acquitting the defendant of all charges.
The jury's determination is perceived as a victory for self-defense and gun-rights advocates as well as a repudiation of the unfounded narrative initially pushed by Democrats and mainstream media outlets that branded Rittenhouse as a white supremacist vigilante.
What's the background?
The Illinois teenager had been tried on multiple felony counts — including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, and attempted first-degree intentional homicide — for fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounding Gage Grosskreutz, 28, during Black Lives Matter riots in the Wisconsin city on Aug. 25, 2020.
Riots had broken out in the city following the shooting of a black resident, Jacob Blake, by a white police officer. After multiple investigations, the officer who pulled the trigger that injured Blake was cleared of any wrongdoing and returned to the job.
Rittenhouse's defense team maintained that their client was ambushed by rioters after coming to Kenosha that night to protect local businesses against looting and burning and to provide medical aid to individuals injured in the uprising. The prosecution, on the other hand, sought to prove that Rittenhouse had come to the protests armed with an AR-15 in order to seek violence.
Rittenhouse would have served a mandatory life sentence in prison if he had been convicted. But in the end, the jury favored the defense team's arguments of self-defense over the prosecution's claims of murder.
What else?
As the trial unfolded, legal experts began characterizing the prosecution's bid as an uphill climb. Videos of incidents viewed by the public appeared to show Rittenhouse being chased down and physically threatened before firing any shots.
But in their closing arguments to the jury, the prosecution argued that Rittenhouse provoked the "entire incident" of fatalities by bringing a gun to the protests. They also argued that by bringing the gun, the defendant gave up his right to self-defense — an argument that flies in the face of both state and federal law.
"You lose the right to self-defense when you're the one who brought the gun," said Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger. He later added, "You cannot claim self-defense against a danger you create. If you're the one threatening others, you lose the right to claim self-defense."
Elsewhere, the prosecution team seemed to mock Rittenhouse as a "coward" for bringing "a gun to a fistfight" and characterized the rioters who chased Rittenhouse as a crowd "full of heroes" who tried to stop an "active shooter."
Anything else?
Many now anxiously wait to see whether the verdict will ignite more rioting and looting in downtown Kenosha and elsewhere around the country.
Over the weekend, residents in the small Wisconsin city began bracing for a possible repeat of last August, NBC News reported. Several business owners, too, closed their shops on Monday in anticipation of violence and vandalism.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) also responded to potential violence by preemptively ordering 500 National Guard troops to Kenosha to ensure public safety and order.
This is a breaking story and may be updated.
Rittenhouse judge bans MSNBC from courthouse after producer allegedly followed and tried to photograph jurors
The presiding judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse case banned MSNBC from the courthouse on Thursday after alleging that a producer who works for the cable outlet followed jurors exiting the courthouse and attempted to photograph them.
What are the details?
According to Kenosha News, Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder said in court Thursday morning that the suspect identified himself as "James J. Morrison, who claimed he was a producer with NBC News, employed by MSNBC."
"The jury in this case is being transported from a different location in a bus with windows covered so that they aren't exposed to anything on one side or the other," the judge explained, adding, "That's been done every day."
Morrison, according to Schroeder, had been following the sealed jury bus and ran a red light to keep pace, and that's when he was pulled over by police and questioned. Morrison allegedly stated that he was working under the supervision of a New York producer for MSNBC named Irene Byon.
The Kenosha Police Department confirmed some of the details of the allegations on Twitter late Thursday morning, noting that the individual suspected of photographing jurors was taken into custody and issued "several traffic-related citations." The department added that no photographs were obtained and that the investigation remains open.
What else?
In response to the allegation, NBC News appeared to confirm that the journalist was working for the network but claimed the individual in question was a "freelancer" and was not intentionally following the jury.
"Last night, a freelancer received a traffic citation. While the traffic violation took place near the jury van, the freelancer never contacted or intended to contact the jurors during deliberations, and never photographed or intended to photograph them. We regret the incident and will fully cooperate with the authorities on any investigation," the network said in a statement.
Kenosha News originally reported that "Channel 5 Chicago (NBC) confirmed that an NBC producer was the party involved Thursday morning."
That line has since been removed from the outlet's report without any note or subsequent explanation.
Anything else?
Schroeder reportedly announced that nobody else from MSNBC News "will be permitted" in the Kenosha County Courthouse "for the duration of this trial."
"This is a very serious matter and I don't know what the ultimate truth of it is," he added. "But absolutely, it would go without much thinking that someone who is following a jury bus, that is a very serious, extremely serious matter, and will be referred to the proper authorities for further action."
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
NEW: Rittenhouse prosecution withheld video evidence from the defense; mistrial still on the table
As the jury continues its deliberation in the Kyle Rittenhouse case, a motion for mistrial still hangs in the balance that includes an allegation that the prosecution withheld critical video evidence from the defense.
What are the details?
The Illinois teenager's defense team filed a written motion on Monday requesting a "mistrial with prejudice," including two previous allegations and a third that claims the prosecution deliberately withheld a higher-quality version of drone video evidence, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported.
According to the outlet, on Nov. 5, prosecutors gave defense attorneys a "compressed version" of the drone video that "was not as clear as the video kept by the state." Then on Saturday, they finally handed over the higher-quality video to the defense.
The video in question shows the defendant pointing his gun at a bystander during the Aug. 25, 2020, Black Lives Matter riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Chicago Tribune reported.
In their motion, the defense team argued the evidence was withheld on purpose since the action caught on camera is the "linchpin" of the prosection's case. Throughout the trial, the state has claimed that Rittenhouse provoked the violence that night by bringing a gun to the protests.
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the incidents, is facing multiple felony murder counts for fatally shooting two men and wounding a third during the riots in Kenosha last summer. The teenager's legal team has maintained that he acted in self-defense when he fired the shots.
Video evidence of the actual incidents seen by the public appears to show Rittenhouse being chased down by rioters and physically threatened before he opened fire.
What else?
Despite the fact that the jury is on the second day of deliberation, a mistrial can still be declared by Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder even after a verdict is read.
The defense made the request for a mistrial with prejudice last week in light of two occasions of possible prosecutorial misconduct. On one occasion, Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger seemed to question the defendant's post-arrest silence during cross-examination, something Judge Schroeder called a "grave constitutional violation." Then minutes later, Binger brought up an Aug. 10 incident that had reportedly been excluded from open discussion in a pretrial order.
The behavior prompted Schroeder to dismiss the jury and give Binger a fiery lecture.
A mistrial with prejudice declaration would effectively acquit the defendant and protect him from being tried again on the charges.
Anything else?
Legal experts told the Journal-Sentinel that the issuance of such a declaration after a verdict is read is unlikely, but not outside the realm of possibilities.
"I'm not sure why the judge has waited to rule," Michael O'Hear, professor of criminal law at Marquette Law School, told the outlet in an email. "It seems unlikely to me that he would have turned the case over to the jury if he expected to grant the mistrial."
"The only reason I can think of for waiting is perhaps he wants to give the jury a chance to acquit so he doesn't have to, but that's speculation on my part," added Keith Findley, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, in an interview.
John P. Gross, also a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, argued that a mistrial declaration "should be off the table" at this point but noted that Schroeder has shown "he likes to keep his options open."
Mark Levin RIPS media coverage of Rittenhouse trial: 'This is what happens when you have a mob that demands MOB JUSTICE'
Want to see what mob justice looks like? Consider the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse as the closing arguments end and the case is laid in the hands of the jury.
After being chased and attacked during the Kenosha riots two summers ago, Rittenhouse defended himself, shooting three people in the chaos. As the prosecution concealed key FBI video that exonerates Rittenhouse, they still attempted to paint him as a murderer.
But as BlazeTV host Mark Levin illustrates in the clip below, the prosecution's key witness isn't all he's cracked up to be. And you'll be shocked at what else he is covering up.
"Based on what I've been reading and following in this case, it is a brutal rejection of what the prosecution has tried here," Levin said of the trial. "But this is what happens when you have a mob that demands mob justice."
Watch the video clip below or find more from "LevinTV" here:
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Alan Dershowitz: Rittenhouse 'should be acquitted,' then sue liberal media outlets for their 'deliberate and willful lies'
Former Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz blasted liberal media outlets such as CNN and the New Yorker over the weekend for their biased and erroneous reporting on the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.
What did he say?
The scholar said the Illinois teenager charged with killing two men and wounding another during Black Lives Matter riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer "should be acquitted" and then should go on the offensive against the media outlets that have branded him a white supremacist vigilante before the conclusion of his trial.
"If I were a juror, I would vote that there was reasonable doubt [and] that he did act in self-defense," Dershowitz told Newsmax on Saturday.
"Then he'll bring lawsuits, and that's the way to answer ... vigilante justice is what CNN is doing, not what a 17-year-old kid under pressure may have done right or wrong. It's CNN who is involved in vigilante justice. It's the New Yorker that's guilty of vigilante justice," he added.
Dershowitz compared Rittenhouse's case to former Kentucky high school student Nicholas Sandmann, who became the target of left-wing media attacks following an encounter with a Native American activist in Washington, D.C.
Sandmann later sued CNN and the Washington Post. Both the network and the paper ended up settling.
"The idea is to make the media accountable for deliberate and willful lies," Dershowitz explained.
What else?
He added in a Sunday conversation with Breitbart's Joel Pollak that "CNN and some of the other TV stations" are the "ones who want to put not the thumb, but the elbow on the scale of justice."
"They want to influence the outcome of this case," he argued. "And there are others who are threatening violence if there is anything but convictions in this case, as they threatened violence in previous cases and will in subsequent cases unless something is done about it. It's the New Yorker and CNN that are the vigilantes. They're the ones who are trying to influence justice without regard to evidence or the law."
Rittenhouse is currently facing multiple felony murder charges — including first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide — for fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounding Gage Grosskreutz, 28.
Rittenhouse's defense team has maintained that their client was in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020, to protect local businesses and provide medical aid during the uprising and that he was only acting in self-defense when he fired the shots.
Videos of the incidents seen by the public appear to show Rittenhouse being chased and physically threatened before firing his gun. The prosecution, however, argued that the defendant provoked the attacks by bringing an AR-15 to the protests.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the jury was still deliberating over the verdict.
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