By Wisconsin Watch
Standing in front of a burned-out Kenosha business Tuesday night, Kyle Rittenhouse said he was there to quell violence and protect property after a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man, in the back on Sunday.
Rittenhouse, who lives 20 miles away in Antioch, IL, arrived following a widely disseminated call to arms to protect property issued by the Kenosha Guard, a militia group whose leaders include a former Kenosha City Council member.
Just before midnight, gunfire echoed, scattering bystanders and leaving two Wisconsinites dead and a third injured. “I just killed somebody,” Rittenhouse could be heard saying in a video captured at the scene.
Rittenhouse illustrates what experts call a growing trend: militias, far-right groups and other armed vigilantes – often mobilized on social media – showing up at racial justice protests, escalating chaos and danger during showdowns between protesters and law enforcement. One account noted 136 confirmed instances – between George Floyd’s killing on May 25 and late June – of such groups showing up at, or reacting to, racial justice protests.
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