Right of self defense on trial as jury weighs Rittenhouse verdict

Nov. 16, 2021, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to ongoing jury deliberations in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial:

“Kyle Rittenhouse defended himself from three violent rioters in a mob that was chasing him last August. This has been one of the clearest cases of self defense ever caught on camera. Almost every assertion by the prosecution about Rittenhouse’s supposed aggression on video was belied by the video shown to the jury. The travesty of this case is that it was tried at all, putting the jurors and the city of Kenosha once again in the crosshairs of even more mob violence should the verdict go against the mob. Unfortunately, this is the natural conclusion of the Antifa and BLM mob violence that beset the country through most of 2020.

“In an ironic note, the local Kenosha prosecutor and the Biden Justice Department, declined to prosecute the officer who shot Jacob Blake, the catalyst of the Kenosha riots. There, they ruled it was reasonable self defense for the officer involved. Yet, Rittenhouse, who clearly was defending himself as well, has been prosecuted because he was a private citizen.”

Interview availability: For media availability contact Catherine Mortensen at 703.478.4643 or cmortensen@getliberty.org.

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