Kyle Rittenhouse trial verdict – live: Kenosha shooter found not guilty as Republican says ‘be armed’

The Kyle Rittenhouse verdict on Friday has inspired a range of different responses. Star Trek actor George Takei tweeted: “Justice denied is a body blow to our national psyche. On trial was not only a killer, but a system that continues to kill. Today that system defeated true justice, once again. But mark these words: We will never stop fighting for what is right and just.”

Community star Yvette Nicole Brown also posted: The good news is that white men and boys can still kill whoever they want and do NO jail time! Isn’t that fun! And he killed white people! I bet little Kyle Rittenhouse is gonna go right out and take some more white power pics with The Proud Boys and plan his next massacre.”

The Independent’s Sam Moore is following all the reactions to the controversial ruling.

Conservative congressman Madison Cawthorn reacted with evident glee at the not guilty verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial on Friday, offering the 18-year-old an internship and telling his supporters to “be armed, be dangerous, and be moral.”

Kyle Rittenhouse collapsed into his chair and wept uncontrollably as the not guilty verdicts were read out in court on Friday.

Mr Rittenhouse, 18, became overcome with emotion at the conclusion of the three week trial as he was cleared of the homicide of Anthony Huber, 26 and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36. Mr Rittenhouse appeared to hyperventilate and embraced his lawyer Corey Chirafisi, before rushing out of the courtroom as Judge Brice Schroeder addressed the jury.

Bevan Hurley has the story.

The Kyle Rittenhouse trial was the convergence of a number of toxic developments in American life. Despite assurances from Judge Bruce Schroeder that “this is not a political trial,” it’s hard to imagine a case that has inspired more political intrigue in recent years.

As The Independent’s Alex Woodward writes:Despite his insistence that the trial would not be political, politics and partisan influence dominated the case both inside and outside Judge Schroeder’s courtroom.

For more than a year, far-right media has fed their audience a false narrative that bolsters Mr Rittenhouse as a hero who stood up to their hyper-violent visions of “antifa” and Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of 2020 uprisings – and how “activist” prosecutors sought to make an example out of a “kid” who was unjustly arrested.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia has the latest from DC.

Bill de Blasio slammed the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict on Friday. The New York mayor said the fact that the 18-year-old was found not guilty on all counts after shooting three people amid Black Lives Matter protests was “a miscarriage of justice.”

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said Biden administration officials have been in contact with Kenosha County officials amid the freshly announced verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial in support of ensuring that any protests remain peaceful.

Asked whether the White House had a reaction to the verdict, the press secretary said she would check with the president and issue a statement “as soon as we can”. Andrew Feinberg is following the latest in Washington on this story.

Kyle Rittenhouse became visibly emotional on Friday when it was announced he was found not guilty on all counts in his homicide trial, after shooting three men in the aftermath of police brutality protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin on 25 August 2020.

The Rittenhouse jury has been deliberating for a total of about 24 hours over three days.

Here’s a look at the length of time juries took to return a verdict in other high profile cases:

Derek Chauvin – It took a Minnesota jury just over 10 hours to find Mr Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in April 2021

Jason Van Dyke – Illinois jurors took about seven and a half hours to convict Mr Van Dyke of second-degree murder in the death of Laquan McDonald in October 2018

George Zimmerman – It took about 16 and a half hours for a Florida jury to acquit Mr Zimmerman of second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin in July 2013

Casey Anthony – Florida jurors deliberated for less than 11 hours before acquitting Ms Anthony in the death of her two-year-old daughter Caylee in July 2011

Harvey Weinstein – A New York jury deliberated for about 26 hours before finding Mr Weinstein on two of five criminal charges in February 2020

OJ Simpson – A California jury deliberated for less than four hours before acquitting Mr Simpson of murder charges in the death of his estranged wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1995

Ted Bundy – A jury in Utah deliberated for less than seven hours before finding him guilty on two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and two counts of burglary

Charles Manson – Jurors in California deliberated for nearly 43 hours before finding Mr Manson and his followers guilty on 27 counts – including murder and conspiracy – in 1971

Kyle Rittenhouse has been found not guilty on all five charges in his homicide trial.

The jury in the homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse reached a verdict after four days of deliberations.

Jurors began their fourth day of deliberations on Friday morning, after spending more than 24 hours over the previous three days working on the case. Rachel Sharp has the details on this stunning development.