The incident has increased concerns about the presence of armed vigilantes as self-appointed peacekeepers during anti-racism protests.
Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old Illinois resident, was arrested Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder, following a night of violent clashes in Kenosha, Wisc., protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha police. Police said Rittenhouse shot three people, killing two and injuring one. In cell phone footage of the incident, a man holding a rifle could be heard saying “I just killed somebody.
On Tuesday, Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson, called for the “violence and destruction” to stop, saying it “doesn’t reflect my son or my family.” The page was no longer viewable by Wednesday afternoon, but the group reportedly had 3,000 followers. Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said following the shooting that “I’ve had people saying, ‘Why don’t you deputize citizens?’ This is why you don’t deputize citizens with guns to protect Kenosha.” At a press conference on Wednesday, Beth said that deputizing citizens would have put them under his authority, and there would have been enormous “liability” if one of them had shot a protester.
“Across this nation there have been armed civilians who have come out to exercise their constitutional right and to potentially protect property,” Miskinis said. “Am I aware the groups exist? Yes, but they weren't invited to come.” Residents of Omaha believed this was the case when local officials initially declined to file charges against Jake Gardner, a white bar owner and former Marine with an alleged history of racism, after Gardner fatally shot 22-year-old James Scurlock, an unarmed Black protester, during a night of demonstrations over Floyd’s death on May 30.
“I strongly believe that presence at the protest and their declared intention to be present at future protests, rather than safeguarding the community, rather than safeguarding property, actually makes the situation far worse,” Torrez said a July news conference. “So it is based on those conclusions that I’ve authorized the filing of a complaint today to seek to prevent them from engaging in that conduct in the future.
“We want to discourage groups from attempting to engage in a public safety role during protests and large gatherings. They are not trained, and they are more likely to escalate tensions if they are carrying firearms and dressed like military or law enforcement officers,” Gallegos said in a statement to the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Michael German, a former FBI special agent and fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty & National Security Program, said that he’s observed a “concerning trend” of “far-right militants coming to these protests with intent of instigating greater violence.” While German noted that it’s unclear whether the suspected shooter in Kenosha was affiliated with any specific militia group, he pointed out that, “These groups have zero barrier to entry. If you want to put on military style clothing as if you’re a soldier in a foriegn war and walk into protest, you’re part of the far-right militia.”
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