Trump believes it was a clear case of 'self defence'
Former President Donal Trump has wasted no time in congratulating Kyle Rittenhouse after a jury found him not guilty of killing two protestors and injuring a third during a night of civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August 2020.
In an emailed statement to his supporters, Trump said: "Congratulations to Kyle Rittenhouse for being found INNOCENT of all charges."
He added: "It’s called being found NOT GUILTY - and by the way, if that’s not self defense, nothing is!"
On Friday November 19, Rittenhouse, 18, was found to be not guilty of two counts of homicide, one count of attempted homicide and a third count of recklessly endangering safety during police brutality protests which took place last year but quickly spiralled into looting, rioting and arson.
Riddenhouse attended the protests with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle and ultimately shot and killed 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum and 26-year-old Anthony Huber before injuring 27-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz. According to Rittenhouse and his lawyers, he claimed he was acting in self defence.
Speaking in reaction to the verdict, current President Joe Biden released a statement saying: "While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken."
Upon hearing the news of his 'not guilty' verdict, Rittenhouse began weeping, before shaking and collapsing onto a table that he was standing behind, clearly overcome with emotion.
Despite preparing for an uproar in protests following the jury's verdict, no incidents or disturbances have been reported at the time of writing.
A spokesperson for the Rittenhouse family named David Hancock told
Reuters: "We are all so very happy that Kyle can live his life as a free and innocent man, but in this whole situation there are no winners, there are two people who lost their lives and that's not lost on us at all."
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