Tag Archives: kenosha shooting

Kyle Rittenhouse accuses Biden of ‘malice, defamation’

Kyle Rittenhouse slammed Joe Biden for “defaming” his character when the president tweeted out a video suggesting the teen is a white supremacist.

“It’s actual malice, defaming my character for him to say something like that,” Rittenhouse told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson during an hour-long interview that aired Monday night.

Rittenhouse, who was acquitted on all charges last Friday in his highly-publicized murder trial, was responding to a question from Carlson about how he felt over the president’s comments.

Biden, when he was a presidential candidate in September 2020, had tweeted that “there’s no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night,” referring to then-president Donald Trump.

The post, which includes a 50-second clip, refers to a question Fox News host Chris Wallace asked Trump during a presidential debate about whether he was willing “to condemn white supremacists and militia groups” in the wake of unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and other American cities.

Kyle Rittenhouse did an exclusive interview with Tucker Carlson.
Fox News
Kyle Rittenhouse carries a weapon in Kenosha, Wis., Aug. 25, 2020.
Adam Rogan/The Journal Times via AP

The clip includes an image of Rittenhouse, 18, wielding a semi-automatic rifle.

Rittenhouse, in Monday night’s interview, also blasted Biden over his post-verdict prepared statement, where the president said he was “angry and concerned” over the trial’s outcome.

“Mr. President, if I could say one thing to you, I would urge you to go back and watch the trial and understand the facts before you make a statement,” Rittenhouse said.

Kyle Rittenhouse slammed Joe Biden for “defaming” his character.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
A tear rolls down the cheek of Gaige Grosskreutz as he testifies about being shot in the right bicep, during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial in Kenosha Circuit Court, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.
Mark Hertzberg/Pool Photo via AP

A jury cleared Rittenhouse of charges of homicide, attempted homicide and reckless endangerment on Friday in the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, on Aug. 25, 2020.

He was 17 when he brought a semi-automatic rifle and a medical kit to Kenosha in what he said was an effort to protect businesses as riots broke out over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who was left paralyzed from the waist down, on Aug. 23.

His attorneys argued that the teenager acted in self-defense when he opened fire.

The high-profile case created debate over whether Rittenhouse used his legal right to use weapons during the violence in Kenosha or whether he was a dangerous vigilante who escalated the tension.

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Kyle Rittenhouse says he supports BLM, case was about self defense

Kyle Rittenhouse says said that his case was not about the contentious issue of race — and that, in fact, he supports Black Lives Matter.

“This case . . . had nothing to do with race, had to do with the right to self-defense,” Rittenhouse (inset), 18, told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview set to air Monday.

“I’m not a racist person. I support the BLM movement and peacefully demonstrating.”

A jury cleared Rittenhouse of charges of homicide, attempted homicide and reckless endangerment on Friday in the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, on Aug. 25, 2020.

He was 17 when he brought a semiautomatic rifle and a medical kit to Kenosha in what he said was an effort to protect businesses as riots broke out over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who was left paralyzed from the waist down, on Aug. 23.

His attorneys argued that the teenager acted in self-defense when he opened fire.

Rittenhouse insisted under cross-examination that he had no other choice than to defend himself and claimed the protesters were a threat to his life.

“I tell everybody there what happened. I said I had to do it,” he said. “I was just attacked. I was dizzy, I was vomiting, I couldn’t breathe.”

The high-profile case created debate over whether Rittenhouse used his legal right to use weapons during the violence in Kenosha or whether he was a dangerous vigilante who escalated the tension.

“I believe they came to the correct verdict and I’m glad that everything went well,” he said.

“It’s been a rough journey but we made it through it. We made it through the hard part.”

The jury deliberated for close to 3¹/₂ days before reaching a verdict.

Rittenhouse railed against his prosecution but said he believes his treatment was not unusual.

“I believe there needs to be change. I believe there’s a lot of prosecutorial misconduct, not just in my case but in other cases,” he said.

“It’s just amazing to see how much a prosecutor can take advantage of someone.”

Legal experts told The Post that prosecutors in the trial presented an overly complex case and might have had better success if they had sought lesser charges.

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Armed father-daughter duo seek to protect anti-Rittenhouse protesters

KENOSHA, WI — Protesters upset over the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse marched in Kenosha on Sunday — in the presence of a Second Amendment-supporting father-daughter duo armed with AR-15s they said were to protect the demonstrators.

“We just do security for different groups. We’re doing a favor for them,” Erick Jordan, 50, told The Post while walking alongside his 16-year-old daughter Jade.

Jordan said he’d been training Jade to use firearms since she was 4 but only let her touch a weapon once she was 14. He said they were protecting a restaurant and two parking lots in the area on the night Rittenhouse shot three people, including two fatally, amid protests over police conduct.

Rittenhouse has claimed he fired in self-defense, although, “I probably wouldn’t have fired my weapon,” Jade said.

The father and daughter claim that they are at the protest to protect protesters.
James Keivom
Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty of all charges at this trial last week.
Photo by Sean Krajacic – Pool/Getty Images

Her father said of the verdict, “It is what it is.

“The jury did their job, and this is America,” he said.

Erik Jordan started training Jade to use firearms when she was 4 years old.
James Keivom

The Jordans said they had been invited by march organizers to protect participants, who numbered about 75 in total. Demonstrators carried signs with messages such as, “The Whole System is Guilty!” and, “Cops and fascists give license to kill in the USA!”

The Rev. Jesse Jackson had been expected to attend the march but did not make it.

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LeBron James mocks Kyle Rittenhouse’s breakdown in court

Hoops legend LeBron James is being ripped for mocking teenager Kyle Rittenhouse’s breakdown on the stand.

The 36-year-old Lakers star posted a series of laughing emojis alongside footage of the 18-year-old Kenosha gunman overwhelmed by sobs Wednesday, a breakdown that forced a halt to his trial.

“What tears????? I didn’t see one,” wrote James, a vocal black rights activist.

“Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court,” the Los Angeles baller wrote on his @KingJames account, ending with the three laughing emojis.

Within hours, his tweet had more than 17,000 comments, many outraged at the latest outburst by the player, who previously tweeted a photo of a cop along with the caption, “YOU’RE NEXT.”

“LeBron James appears to be mocking people dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in this post. Why?” asked Aaron Carpenter, a local councilor in Ohio.

“Is this a joke to you? Not a good look!”

“What tears????? I didn’t see one,” LeBron James wrote.
Mark Hertzberg/Pool via AP

Others asked why the athlete is “on the wrong side of every issue.”

“When you revisit traumatic memories it comes out differently emotionally and/or psychically,” Harminder Singh wrote of Rittenhouse, whose sobs came as he recalled fearing for his life from Black Lives Matter rioters who he testified were trying to snatch his AR-15 before he opened fire.

“Understand the subject before commenting on it,” Singh advised James.

Kyle Rittenhouse breaks down on the stand as he testifies during his trial on November 10.
Mark Hertzberg/Pool via REUTERS

Another commentator suggested James must have “watched literally zero coverage of this trial, otherwise he might not post something that is so out of touch.”

“I am quite surprised by Lebron actually using his voice and this platform to make such a [sophomoric] statement.”

Many also stressed that you do not have to support Rittenhouse — who is being tried for the murders of two men and attempted murder of a third — to believe he would still be traumatized by the experience.

“Bad form Lebron — 18 year old kid with the weight of the world on him,” one fan wrote. “Possibly spending the rest of his life behind bars. Forgive him if he breaks down.”

Another fan, Jesse Muckinhoupt, wrote, “Bruh. Regardless of how you feel about the situation you could show maybe a little better character.”

Many also posted images of James in tears in his own court — a basketball one — with one writing, “Big talk from you considering you had to be taken off court for a leg cramp.”

Many also reminded the Lakers star of his earlier scandal over his inflammatory tweet after the fatal police shooting in April of Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, as she lunged at another girl with a knife in Columbus, Ohio.

Kyle Rittenhouse is on trial for the murder of two men and attempted murder of a third.
Sean Krajacic/Pool via REUTERS

James later apologized for tweeting out a photo of the officer along with the seemingly threatening caption, “YOU’RE NEXT.”

“Remember what happened the last time you ran your mouth about a shooting? About the same thing here,” Afghan war veteran and one-time congressional candidate Chris Manning told him.

Another wrote, “Hey King, sit this one out. You don’t have a good history with these takes.”

LeBron James came under fire in April for a tweet following the fatal police shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant.
Atiba Jefferson/NBAE via Getty Images
LeBron James posted a series of laughing emojis alongside footage of Kyle Rittenhouse crying.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

“I love you lebron, but you need to educate yourself and stop race baiting. You are making things worse,” wrote one fan whose bio says “Lebron is my GOAT,” for greatest of all time.

“First calling out that cop and then deleting your tweet when the facts actually showed you spoke too soon. Same thing here.”

Radio host Dan O’Donnell had a witty take on James’ claim of bad acting.

“If you are suggesting he was somehow faking it, then he is a much better actor than you were in Space Jam,” O’Donnell wrote of James’ 2021 movie in which he starred alongside cartoon characters.



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