The Kyle Rittenhouse Effect: Praising White Criminals
Sandrine Jacquot, Online Branch, Staff Writer
February 2022
There is no denying the existence of systemic and institutional racism in the American justice system. When a white man kills out of self-defence, he is a hero. When a Black man kills out of self-defence, he is a murderer. Is the political division in the United States so deep to glorify killing?
It’s the 25th of August at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. The streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin are filled with citizens and activists protesting against police brutality after a white police officer shot and severely wounded Jacob Blake, a Black man. Kyle Rittenhouse, 17 years old at the time, patrols the streets after curfew with his assault rifle after travelling from Illinois to the city. He is part of a group of self-appointed white men and teens describing themselves as informal militia security to protect property from the violent protests. Eventually Rittenhouse ended up amidst a crowd, killing Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz.
The American justice system had just been handed a test of racial double-standards based on relevant questions of firearms rights, unequal policing, and racial discrimination. After two weeks of testimony and three and a half days of jury deliberation, the courts reached a verdict on Rittenhouse’s total of five charges: Rittenhouse was acquitted on all counts. Did the justice system pass the test? Well, that depends on your perspective.
And no doubt was this case divisive on that front. Following the verdict, conservatives praised that justice had been served, while the left cried out in disagreement, outraged at the racial double-standard. The response was emblematic of America’s deep partisan divide.
I am not a judge, nor am I in a position of authority or qualified to fully and critically question the verdict of the case. But what I can observe is the racial bias and hypocrisy for the Rittenhouse decision when compared to the abundance of wrongful or over-convicted cases for Black men. Black men serve sentences 19.1% longer than their white counterparts who commit similar crimes. Black people convicted of murder are also significantly more likely than white people to be later found innocent for their crimes. Self-defence laws in the United States allow civilians to use deadly force when they reasonably believe it is necessary to defend themselves or others: this definition is highly subjective and at risk of racial bias. The Marshall Project, a nonprofit journalism outlet reporting on criminal justice, notes that in one in six killings of a Black man by a white man there are no criminal sanctions. A white person killing a Black man is labelled justifiable eight times more than others, where justifiable means killing out of self-defence or when the victim is committing a crime. Though this racial disparity can be caused by several factors, stereotypes, irrational fear, and racial bias certainly play a role. These inconsistencies demonstrate the undeniable role of race in the justice system, regardless of the differences of facts in the case. This is systemic and institutional racism.
Regardless of the obvious institutional racism and growing political divide, perhaps the most notable and concerning element that emerged from Rittenhouse’s case was his “celebrification,” if you will. More specifically, those who praised him and transformed him into a national symbol of patriotism.
In the months leading up to the trial in November of 2021, supporters for Rittenhouse raised the $2 million US needed for his bail, and almost another half a million dollars to help with legal expenses. This half-a-million-dollar sum came from two fundraising organizations: FreeKyleUSA, launched by Rittenhouse’s mother, and The Milo Fund, as a donations vehicle for legal expenses. It is likely that Rittenhouse’s case sparked additional fundraising efforts for related pro-arms movements.
Even more appalling were the many offers of congressional internship by several notable Republicans. Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, and Madison Cawthorn are all among the right-wing lawmakers who offered Rittenhouse an internship. Though he turned down his internship offers, Rittenhouse got close with Republicans, announcing his intentions to visit several of the politicians. Former President Trump also reportedly hosted Rittenhouse and his mother at his Palm Beach resort in Florida. Not only has Rittenhouse become cozy with high-profile politicians, but he’s had a Bill put forth in his honour. Put forth by Tennessee State Representative Bruce Griffey, ‘Kyle’s Law’ would require the state to reimburse defendants not found guilty of homicide charges due to self-defence.
The effects of this verdict go beyond Rittenhouse himself. It not only re-exposed the inequity in the American justice system, but many Republications took it a step further by glorifying outright murder as moral. The verdict essentially justified vigilantism, emboldening other right-wing freedom-protectors to take the law into their own hands: they know they will not be held accountable for their actions. This lack of accountability is concerning, but unsurprising. Rittenhouse represents an opposition to protests beyond providing support for law enforcement: it is an opposition to protesting rooted in white supremacy and a disdain for those fighting for racial equality.
Glorifying and sensationalizing criminals in the mass media is nothing new. Broadcasting criminals and their crimes makes them infamous and even possibly inspiring other crimes. While this should be managed by careful reporting, the Kyle Rittenhouse case is different: many people, and influential people at that, are celebrating and praising his actions. This normalizes committing crimes under the guise of protecting civil liberties when in reality it is racially charged. Celebrating white criminals is dangerous because it only strengthens white supremacy and reinforces inequality in how the justice system decides minority cases. And not only are white criminals aware that they could get away with their crimes under this guise but they are additionally celebrated and praised for it by the country’s top politicians and lawmakers.
The justice system needs serious reform for equitable treatment regardless of race. But while that is a daunting and difficult task to accomplish in itself, this iconification and symbolization of criminals will never truly be resolved until we bridge the deep-rooted political gaps.
Sources
Bates, Josiah. “How the Kyle Rittenhouse Verdict Could Devastate the Work of Black Lives Matter Activists,” Time, November 23, 2021. https://time.com/6120001/rittenhouse-verdict-activists-continue-organizing/.
Chokshi, Niraj. “Black People More Likely to Be Wrongfully Convicted of Murder, Study Shows,” The New York Times, March 7, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/us/wrongful-convictions-race-exoneration.html.
Dzhanova, Yelena. “Rep. Lauren Boebert said Kyle Rittenhouse has ‘bigger intentions than being an intern in Congress,” Yahoo News, December 26, 2021. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/rep-lauren-boebert-said-kyle-170330193.html.
Griffey, Bruce. “Tenessee lawmaker presents self-defense bill in ‘honor’ of Kyle Rittenhouse,” The Hill, January 19, 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/tennessee-lawmaker-presents-self-defense-210951391.html.
Harper, Averi, Alisa Wiersema and Meg Cunningham. “Rittenhouse verdict fuels concerns of inequality in justice system: The Note,” ABC News, November 22, 2021. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rittenhouse-verdict-fuels-concerns-inequality-justice-system-note/story?id=81311695.
Heiskell, Christopher. “Glorification of Criminals,” The Odyssey, December 5, 2017, https://www.theodysseyonline.com/glorification-of-criminals.
Hymes, Clare. “Kyle Rittenhouse found not guilty of all charges in Kenosha shootings,” CBS News, November 19, 2021, https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/kyle-rittenhouse-verdict-acquitted-all-charges/.
King Erica Y. “Black men get longer prison sentences than white men for the same crime: Study,” ABC News, November 17, 2017, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/black-men-sentenced-time-white-men-crime-study/story?id=51203491.
Lathrop, Daniel, and Anna Flagg. “Killings of Black Men by Whites are Far More Likely to be Ruled ‘Justifiable,’” The Marshall Project, August 14, 2017, https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/08/14/killings-of-black-men-by-whites-are-far-more-likely-to-be-ruled-justifiable.
McEvoy, Jemima. “Kyle Rittenhouse Defense Fund Raising Hundreds Of Thousands of Dollars Ahead Of His November Murder Trial,” Forbes, June 21, 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/06/21/kyle-rittenhouse-defense-fund-raising-hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars-ahead-of-his-november-murder-trial/?sh=76bd04145f17.
Yang, Maya, and Joanna Walters, “Kyle Rittenhouse found not guilty after fatally shooting two in Kenosha unrest,” The Guardian, November 19, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/19/kyle-rittenhouse-verdict-kenosha-shooting.