There Was No Curfew For An Armed 17-Year-Old

Kyle Rittenhouse drove to Kenosha with an AR-15

I was sad when I saw a deadly shooting that had occurred during the protests in Kenosha. The marches were related to the shooting of Jacob Blake. He was shot seven times in his back…point-blank by Kenosha police.

At first, it seemed like a few hoodlums had a shootout on Tuesday, August 25th! That’s how it was originally presented…

Curfews were set for 8 pm. No one should have been out after that but the National Guard and the local police. But at 11:45 pm shots rang out. And all of a sudden, two men were dead.

A 36-year-old young man, Joseph “Jojo” Rosenbaum, was shot in the head and died a few minutes later. The other victim, 26-year-old Anthony Huber, tried to stop further shooting and stood in front of the killer with his skateboard. It wasn’t much of a barrier; he was shot in the chest. He died too. A third person, 26-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz, was there to provide medical services. He was shot in the arm and survived.

*All of the victims were unarmed.

But as more facts presented themselves, the truth became clearer.

A 17-year-old boy, armed with an AR-15, drove to Wisconsin to “help.” Kyle Rittenhouse, whose social media indicated that he is a white supremacist, was ready. Ready for what? We shall soon see.

Rittenhouse’s social media, which was taken down shortly before his arrest was made public, reveals that he supports the “Blue Lives Matter” cause and his page is full of pro-police commentary, as well as misogynist and white supremacist comments.

To his credit, after the triple shooting, Kyle tried to turn himself in.

“I just killed somebody,” he said.

The boy tried to give himself up. But damn it! He wasn’t Black. Strapped with an AR-15, and with people all over the place pointing out that he shot several people, he couldn’t get arrested! So after allegedly killing the two young men, and injuring another, he went home to mama. In Illinois.

“Last night, in a situation that began peaceful and turned somewhat unruly … persons who were out after the curfew became engaged in some type of disturbance and persons were shot,” Police Chief Daniel Miskinis said. “Had persons not been out involved in violation of that, perhaps the situation that unfolded would not have happened.”

May God help those families. They lost their brothers, fathers, uncles, and sons needlessly.

The maturity needed to handle an AR-15 is not usually present in a 17-year-old. He was carrying it illegally. But videos show that his whiteness caused him to be automatically accepted by the local militia and the local Kenosha police anyway.

What’s interesting is the use of the words “long gun” and rifle for the AR-15. I am ignorant about guns; I’d never heard of a long gun before. It makes the deadly weapon seem somewhat softer and more desirable…but it’s still an AR-15, an assault weapon designed to kill as many people as possible. Lots of people. And my daddy owned a rifle. He used it to hunt rabbits and deer. He shot moles in the yard. Not people.

When did people start using the nomenclature “long gun” and “rifle” for an assault weapon?

I couldn’t help comparing 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse to 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Kyle had a long gun. Trayvon was carrying skittles and ice tea.

Trayvon is dead.

Untrained, heavily armed White men and boys

These boys and men are free to walk the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin with AR-15s and AK-47’s. I know it’s overused, but this is white privilege. And now, we have information from Police Chief Daniel Miskinis:

Kenosha Police Chief Blames Protesters for Their Own Deaths, Defends Vigilante Groups

It appears as if, unofficially, the vigilantes are running the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

If this is true, the city may be liable for these deaths. If the Kenosha Police Department condones the use of trigger-happy amateurs and children, they are responsible.

While they might not have been working for the city, videos taken at the protests Tuesday show law enforcement thanking the armed civilians for being on city streets.

The Kenosha Police Chief says that the curfew was to keep people safe. But the penalty for ignoring curfew in Kenosha, Wisconsin is not death. At least, not yet.

One comment on the video from the chief, in particular, made my blood boil:

Last night, a 17 year old individual from Antioch, Illinois, was involved (notice how the chief uses the “passive” voice?) in the use of firearms to preserve, eh, excuse me, to a, resolve whatever conflict was in place.

Was he going to say “preserve the peace?” Just asking for a friend.

*All of the victims were unarmed.

May I submit to you, confidently and solidly, that if the Kenosha Police Chief needs a 17-year-old White Supremacist from Illinois to help him “resolve” conflicts in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that the chief himself is…unfit and needs to step down?

So, here are the facts

17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse drove from Antioch, Illinois to Kenosha, Wisconsin. about thirty miles, to “help” protect property. At his age, it was illegal for him to have access to an AR-15 rifle. His social media showed him to love Blue Lives Matter (no problem here), and he made comments supporting white supremacy and misogyny.

He may or may not have been connected to the Kenosha Guard Militia but he was on video with the Daily Caller explaining his purpose. “And my job also is to protect people.” Oh, the irony.

He allegedly shot three unarmed people, killing two.

He has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide. In Kyle Rittenhouse's case, it is a double homicide. It is the worst type of homicide one can be charged with, and if convicted, the person could serve life imprisonment since the death penalty was abolished in 1853.

The fact that a 17-year-old can even find himself in this state is horrific, but it’s not the first time, nor will it be the last. This is the price our American families are paying for easy access to assault weapons.

Combine those weapons with youth and ignorance, and we can expect even more death.

The city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and many others have received a warning.

There was no curfew for an armed 17-year-old nor the mass of militias, Boogaloos, and other miscellaneous armed white boys and men.

They are not police officers. They are untrained. They are dangerous.

It’s a recipe for murder.

8/29/2020 Update:

After allegedly shooting Joseph Rosenbaum, the shooter called a friend to tell him that he shot someone. (Was this a goal of his? An item on his bucket list?) The friend confirms this phone call at 11:46 pm.

As mentioned earlier, the next two victims, recognizing how dangerous he really was, did what brave men do, and tried to retrieve the gun from the shooter. Anthony Huber only had a skateboard, and he heroically tried to stop the shooter anyway. He died for his efforts.

*More information has been received about the third person that was shot. Gaige Grosskreutz did have a gun, but witnesses and video show that he was not using it on the shooter — he was shot in the arm while also trying to retrieve the AR-15 from the alleged killer.

Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber, and Gaige Grosskreutz saw the danger. These three men are heroes. And two of them paid the ultimate price.

Therefore it’s very disappointing to see Kenosha Police Chief Miskinis try to muddy the waters.

There were a lot of people with weapons, “and unfortunately, a lot of gunfights,” Miskinis said.

It’s the “very fine people on both sides” defense. Nowhere does this servant of the law express any trepidation regarding a 17-year-old from Illinois carrying an AR-15 after curfew.

Rittenhouse is facing two felony charges of homicide in the death of Rosenbaum and Huber, and a felony attempted homicide charge in Grosskreutz’s incident. Court records show he’s also being charged with possession of a dangerous weapon while under the age of 18, which is a misdemeanor.

The misguided right-wing, a few hosts on Foxnews, and Kyle Rittenhouse’s attorney are trying to paint the radicalized, Smith & Wesson AR-15 style, .223 rifle-carrying boy as an innocent, caught up in circumstances beyond his control, who needed to protect himself.

But the evidence shows that the public needed to be protected…from him.