You might have woken up to notifications about the news of Kyle Rittenhouse this morning.
Trials are happening all over the world, but why is this piece of news trending everywhere? Who’s Kyle Rittenhouse, and why haven’t you heard of him before today?
Here’s everything you need to know about Kyle Rittenhouse and his verdict summarised for you.
Everything About the Kyle Rittenhouse Trial That Has Sparked Conversations Around The World
Last year, protests as part of the Black Lives Matter have resulted in several high-profile killings.
One of which involves Kyle Rittenhouse, a then 17-year-old white resident from Illinois.
On 25 August 2020, over in Kenosha (a city in the US), Rittenhouse had driven to the city to stay over with his friend, and he had a rifle with him. It was alleged that he stopped at a car dealer to offer help due to the ongoing protests, and had brought along the rifle to protect himself.
According to various eyewitnesses and smartphone footage, someone had tried to attack him, and Rittenhouse claimed the man said that he was going to kill him.
The man then tried to grab Rittenhouse’s rifle, and Rittenhouse fired at him four times, killing him.
But that wasn’t the end.
Rittenhouse then ran down the street towards police vehicles, but protestors spotted him as someone who has killed someone (it didn’t help that he was carrying a rifle and had just fired four shots). They attacked him, and in self-defence, Rittenhouse fired once at another man, killing him as well.
With that, another man immediately approached Rittenhouse and was convinced that he was a mass murderer. The man had a pistol with him, and after he drew it and pointed it at Rittenhouse, Rittenhouse fired at him.
Fortunately, this time, the shot wasn’t fatal.
Rittenhouse then managed to make his way to the police vehicles.
He was faced various charges: two counts of homicide (killing the first two guys), one count of attempted homicide for wounding a man (injuring the third guy) and two counts of recklessly endangering safety.
On 19 November, after a four-day trial, the jury found Rittenhouse not guilty of all charges.
Which, of course, makes us wonder: Why has a trial involving someone using firearms for self-defence become such a high-profile case?
Gun Rights vs Safety
In the US, two major parties form the Government: one party supports gun rights (think: Donald Trump’s party) while the other doesn’t (think: Joe Biden’s party).
This verdict would give the gun rights activists (i.e. people who lean to the right) another reason to show why owning firearms for self-defence is important.
Conversely, for the leftist, it’s considered a “loss” since lives could have been saved if guns weren’t on the streets in the first place.
Of course, over in the US, there have been uproar and cheers, depending on where you are.
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Featured Image: Aaron of L.A. Photography / Shutterstock.com