Search This Blog

Friday, November 26, 2021

The Rittenhouse Case

Rather than trusting our memories of the various news articles that we have read, I suggest we use this comprehensive summary from Wiki as a reference:

Kenosha unrest shooting - Wikipedia

I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I expect to over the weekend.  For now I have selected these three quotes that address the questions of what Rittenhouse was doing at the event and why he was armed.  It appears that Dominick Black was the only friend that influenced him, they both met the other guys at the site.  It's a little confusing when they say Rittenhouse "took" the rifle from Black, but we see later in the article that Black was the guy who had previously bought the gun for Rittenhouse.  

  Rittenhouse was armed with a semi-automatic[4] AR-15 style rifle[5][6] that he took from his friend, Dominick Black, and both Rittenhouse and Black joined a group of armed men who said they were in Kenosha to protect businesses.[7][8] Rittenhouse said he was there to protect a car dealership from being vandalized and to provide medical aid.[9]

 Later, together with Black, he arrived at Car Source.[56][57] Accounts differ as to whether Rittenhouse and Black's help was requested by Car Source. The dealership owner's sons denied that gunmen had been asked to defend the business,[58][59] but several witnesses testified that armed individuals had been directly sought out by the business to protect their property.[58]

 Rittenhouse was seen talking with police officers,[41][60] and offering medical aid to those who were injured.[41] When McGinniss asked Rittenhouse why he was at the car dealership, he responded: "So, people are getting injured, and our job is to protect this business. Part of my job is also to help people. If there is somebody hurt, I'm running into harm's way. That's why I have my rifle, because I have to protect myself, obviously. I also have my med kit."  

I haven't seen anything so far that says Rittenhouse was "strutting" or "brandishing".  He shot the first guy because he was approaching him in a threatening manner.  Kyle tried to run away at first but, when he heard a gunshot nearby, he turned and faced his pursuer and shot him when he continued to advance towards him.  It appears that the others were chasing Kyle because he had shot the first guy.  To read about this, go to the link and scroll down to where it says "First Confrontation" and "Second Confrontation".  I tried to link directly to these sections, but was unable. 
















No comments:

Post a Comment