SAN DIEGO — Activists in San Diego gathered at Children’s Park downtown Friday night to protest the Rittenhouse verdict. Around 8 p.m. about two dozen people, most of them dressed in black, came out because they say justice was not served when Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty.
“These people would not have died if Kyle Rittenhouse was not there with a gun,” said Dan, one of the activists protesting the verdict.
Protesters in San Diego said they’re fed up with an American justice system they believe only serves some of the people. They said they wanted to show solidarity with the protesters and the victims’ families in Kenosha, WI.
“You know this is actually a huge fantasy in a lot of rightwing, militia circles. They want to put themselves in a situation, that it’s just enough of a gray area where it looks like self-defense, and they get away with killing a protester,” said Dan, one of the protesters.
After four days of deliberating, the jury in the Kyle Rittenhouse case acquitted the 18-year-old of all charges. He was charged for killing two men and injuring a third man with an AR-style automatic weapon, during a chaotic protest in Kenosha against excessive police force last year.
“It’s very common in Wisconsin, especially in Kenosha, where they have open carry laws, to see even teenagers, walking down the streets with weapons,” said San Diego Defense Attorney Dan Greene.
Rittenhouse testified in court that he shot the three men in self-defense.
“He will get to walk free his entire life. People that night lost their lives. What we see in the criminal justice system and how it has treated Kyle Rittenhouse is representative of how it treats White people in that system,” said Renee, one of the protesters.
Protesters in San Diego said they know the risks of fighting for social injustice, and it’s a risk they’re willing to take.
“Every activist puts their lives at risk when they come out on the streets like this,” said Dan, one of the protesters.
Wisconsin’s Governor pleaded for peace and calm after the verdict and said the National Guard is on standby if they need them.