On the Rittenhouse case: a personal note
For me, it started with the reporting on the Jacob Blake shooting. As a blogger, I have to cover these things in depth, and that means that I have to read a lot about each case right from the start and think about it deeply enough to write coherently and logically on it. I don’t like to be wrong, and so I try my best to get it as correct as I can early on.
With the Jacob Blake shooting, it seemed obvious fairly quickly that – as so often happens – “spokespeople” such as Ben Crump were lying and the MSM was lying and the left as a whole was lying about what transpired. I wrote this post just six days after the story broke, and in it I describe what we already knew about the case (which was almost everything) and how the left had lied about it, step by step, trying to stir up anger against the police. This prominently included the state of Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor, Mandela Barnes (see the post for some quotes).
It was already clear that the police had probable cause to shoot Blake, but the Blake-positive and anti-police narrative was already hardened and set.
The same occurred with Rittenhouse. The truth was obvious even earlier in that case, in part due to the fact that there was a great deal of video record available almost immediately. I wrote this post about the case the day after the story broke, and if you read it now you’ll see that almost all the relevant details of the case were already known and the high probability of valid self-defense on Rittenhouse’s part was already clear.
And yet we all had to watch the slow torment of Rittenhouse, first by being precipitously charged with murder and detained in prison and defamed repeatedly, then released and defamed repeatedly while so much of the public branded him a cold-blooded killer. This escalated for me as the trial continued, and the utterly corrupted unscrupulous nature of the prosecution became clear, the relative incompetence of the judge and the defense were demonstrated, and then the jury took so long that it seemed as though it might be hung or even would render a guilty verdict on at least some of the charges.
This seemed unconscionable to me. As the trial had gone on it had seemed ever clearer to me how innocent Rittenhouse was, and how the prosecution was trying to railroad him or at least to get a mistrial declared so that they could try him again and continue the sadistic game. I became more stressed and agitated myself, with mounting frustration and anger.
On Tuesday I traveled cross-country and it was somewhat of a relief to be out of internet touch for a while. But when I arrived and saw that the jury had spent a second day deliberating without issuing a verdict, I started to lose hope of an acquittal.
I kept imagining Rittenhouse’s family and what they were going through, and my imaginings were very bleak. It got worse and worse until last night (Thursday), when for some reason I became hopeful. I’m not sure why that happened, although I think it was because I read rumors that there was only one last holdout keeping the “not guilty” verdict from coming in. I usually don’t believe rumors and pay them no attention, but for whatever reason the rumor last night buoyed me up. I went to bed with more peace than I’d had since the trial began.
Because I’m on Pacific time, I heard about the “not guilty” verdict in the morning. My reaction was huge relief, but by the time I read it I wasn’t really surprised. So there were no big explosions of tears on my part, just a very very deep but quiet satisfaction that the jury did the right thing, and a hope that this is part of a more generalized turning away from the vicious and destructive lies and policies of the left.
The left will never rest, and those who oppose the left should never rest, either. But we can raise a toast to justice, and to the preservation of our liberties.
Neo,
For a long time now, you’ve been one of my prime stops in my list of people I read to find out what’s going on. I think you did an outstanding job following this case and explaining the ins and outs, nuances and nonsequiters of the case. I appreciate your efforts and I learned a lot.
Keep up the good work.
Indeed we can raise a toast to justice! Thank you so much for your blogging.
Just a suspicion on my part, but when the jury asked for both the high and low resolution videos, I thought, “The not guilty faction is trying to point out the incontrovertible nonsense of the prosecution’s characterization of Rittenhouse’s actions to the holdout(s).” We shall see, maybe.
” a hope that this is part of a more generalized turning away from the vicious and destructive lies and policies of the left.”
The left’s MO is to double down. It’s going to get worse.
They are operating out of an ideological fanaticism that impels them to fulfill an imperative.
These fanatical leftists are like the fictional Terminator with one caveat. They can be made to feel fear.
Kyle Reese: “Listen. Understand. That Terminator is out there. It can’t be reasoned with, it can’t be bargained with…it doesn’t feel pity or remorse or fear…and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are dead.”
I followed the entire trial closely through Legal Insurrection and its self-defense expert, Branca.
The charges against this young man should never have been brought. The malicious prosecutors, who withheld exonerating evidence (the high-res video) and put on the stand their “best” witness for the prosecution, Grosskreutz, who admitted he pointed his Glock pistol at Rittenhouse, who then shot him from a supine position, should be disbarred for refusing to honor the judicial process.
And what to do about Biden, who called Rittenhouse a “white supremacist” last August?
The judge could have been stronger. Why no change of venue? Why no jury sequestration?
But fortunately the 12 Kenosha jurors did the right thing…eventually. They were driven home by bus every night, and a leftist NBC or MSNBC stringer tailed the bus one eve after their deliberations. Fortunately the cops stopped him, otherwise their home addresses would be national news. Of course NBC offered a smarmy denial, along the lines of “He got caught, so he never worked for us, Ever”.
Geoffrey Britain:
I was referring to the public’s turning away from those lies. The left won’t turn away. They will indeed get worse, if such a thing is possible. But lies have less force when fewer people believe them.
In Epoch Times I read “After a jury acquitted Rittenhouse, 18, of all charges brought against him, [his attorney-ed.] Richards told reporters after the verdict that “everybody in this case” faced death threats.
“Everybody”? Who would issue a death threat against the prosecutors? The judge, jurors, the defendant and his lawyers, yes, but the grotesque, immoral prosecutors? Who threatened them? Baptists?
Dear Neo – please consider calling the liars “Democrats”. It was US voters who vote and support Democrats who were, and are, lying liars who lie again and again.
“The Left” is a euphemism to allow Democrats to claim “that’s not me”. As long as voters vote for Democrats who lie, the lies will continue. It is (D) Democrats on the ballot who need to be identified as the liars and the supporters and enablers of liars.
This was a case of Avoidance of Gross Injustice – there was already injustice thru the punishment of the process and the punishment of the defamation and the punishment of the lies.
For the innocent, the process is the punishment.
You’ve been doing GREAT work, thanks a bunch. I’ve been avoiding it. Injustice makes me wake up in a bad mood too often already.
“hope that this is part of a more generalized turning away from the vicious and destructive lies and policies of the left.”
I suspect many non-political junkies, who accepted Dem media lies about Trump, will start to be questioning their sources of information.
Vote Republican 2022 … only a year away!
This post moved me and provided a measure of catharsis.
And Tom Grey – you are right. Let us call them democrats.
I appreciate your concise well-researched considerations. It is of immense value. Thanks!
Pingback:Kyle Not Guilty + other links – Tom Grey – Families, Freedom, Responsibility
Heard on Tucker tonight Nadler calling for DOJ investigation of Rittenhouse. Pushing on crossing state lines.
Maybe not over.
It ain’t over till it’s over and this I am sorry to say is not over but Kyle prevailed. The day after the event when I watched the videos I called my son who is almost 50 years old and we both compete in competitions with AR style rifles. Son does it at a much higher level than I including the HeMan competition in Raton New Mexico where they use the really big guns.
Both of us were amazed at the control of the young Kyle only shooting to protect himself total muzzle control and shooting defense shots with incredible speed to neutralize the situation. Youth, speed and being the ‘good guy’ prevailed in what was a literal life and death situation and very few could have done a better job of defending his life than Kyle did that night.
At this time I think Kyle could be called our David against the Democrat Goliath and perhaps even our Patrick Henry who did not have to perish for his country. Let history show that Kyle did put his life on the line to preserve peace and Kyle was one of our good young men doing good deeds before he was attacked.
Thank you Kyle and Blessing upon you Kyle, let us celebrate your correct and proper verdict. As an old man I need to see young hero’s and now we have one more. Maybe a bit too much but that’s how I feel this evening.
A great young man. A true American hero.
And, it’s not over because ~ The prosecution withheld and altered evidence by providing a different quality video than the one they had in their possession. That’s a felony in the state of Wisconsin, and yes, they should be criminally charged and disbarred. So, there should be more to come . . . . .
@OldTexan:
Let’s hope so. The Right has to learn to never sleep and keep taking the fight to the Left. It’s how the Left operates.
Perhaps one day this case will be taught in elementary schools. The right way. That’s what it’s going to take. We’re going to have to grab a hold of those impressionable young minds and give them some heroes the old-fashioned way:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_Feng
Perhaps not overdoing it quite to that extent.
🙂
Neo – thank you all your blogging; but especially thanking you for being so thorough on this Rittenhouse case.
Unlike other recent cases, such as Chauvin, I became more involved in Rittenhouse. Partly because he is so young and seems so idealistic; and more so because there was so much video evidence available that we could see to judge for ourselves instead of relying on the MSM to “interpret” for us.
This is a win for the Rittenhouse family and a win for the concept of self-defense. Self defense of oneself and one’s community.
Watching the videos it was clear to me that he was in over his head – more than anyone could have expected. Even though he handle himself pretty well; I firmly believe even if they didn’t put him on trial he still would have PTSD.
The added trauma of reliving that nightmare through a trial is more than any innocent person should have been put through. He will need a lot of healing and I hope that he gets it. I’m sure his mother and the rest of his family need a lot of healing too. Man, I’ll bet that whole family gets a good night’s sleep tonight – more than they have had in months. Let’s hope local cops are stationed outside their home; or maybe they have gone somewhere for safe hiding.
Of course this win will mean cannon fodder for the left. Whether it be to claim “see, racism is still alive” to satisfy their own twisted sense of reality; or, if it is to use it as propaganda for fundraising. The ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center and dozens of others will use this to shake down corporations for more donations. After all, no company wants to be called out for NOT condemning “white supremacists” even if they really are not white supremacists.
Neo, sleep well tonight! You deserve a good rest. Thanks again for your blogging!
Charles ~ you are exactly right about Kyle and his future.
I had a long conversation with my sone this evening about the future for Kyle and my son told me that Kyle would be best served if he could go work on a ranch in Montana or perhaps Idaho and stay away for people for a few years yet be able to work with professional counselors and work on through the whole damn debacle of his life being in danger, taking care of the threats including the lives of the felons and then most of all being put on trial with the rest of his life in jeopardy day after day after day, never knowing the outcome of the trial.
This young man might need a lot of healing and good care to get on to the rest of his story. Kyle does not need to become a celebratory on talk shows or any other media which might screw him up for the rest of his life, which he now has once again.
On a personal note, when I see the reaction from the centre-left, I am surprised that they can’t recall two letters, O J. There is somebody who really did get away with it.
I was very surprised to see Rittenhouse’s reaction when the verdict was read but then I recalled he is still in his teens. Spending most of your adult life in jail is a daunting prospect.
O.J. killed his wife, he had a history of conflict and she had a history of her messing around, what in the Hell does that have to do with this situation that was caught on multiple cameras? Just asking.
Barry Meislin posted a link (on the Pulitzer thread) to a story that is IMO one of those much-ballyhooed bombshells that everyone needs to read. Not unexpected, mind you, just more proof that the Democrat-Media is entitled to one of Dante’s Circles all to itself.
https://www.thenewneo.com/2021/11/18/will-the-times-and-the-wapo-return-their-pulitzers-for-russiagate/#comment-2589690
I read Durden’s story, which sets the stage with the proper sets and characters, and followed his links, which I give here.
You really have to read them all to get the entire infuriating effect.
Mark Hemingway’s Tweet draws the attention of ZH.
(I was hoping there would be more stories on other outlets, and DDG pulls up three: Daily Mail grabbed it first, of course, then BizPac Review (?), then NY Post for the top 3 hits.)
https://twitter.com/Heminator/status/1461525763765813248
Bowles commented Nov 18 at Substack about her suppressed NYT story, oddly as just part of a round-up of other topics, and only a passing mention of the Rittenhouse trial (!).
https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/tgif-inflation-rises-russiagate-falls
Full quote:
“If you lived in those neighborhoods on fire, you were not supposed to get an extinguisher.” has a lot more resonance after the prosecutor mocked Kyle for — carrying a fire extinguisher, which he had to discard it to run from Rosenbaum. That cross-exam question featured my favorite response from Kyle: Binger – Why were you carrying a fire extinguisher? Kyle – (clearly confused by such a stupid question and not sure what answer was wanted, hence the tone of his response) “Because there was a fire?”
This is the story Bowles wrote; it’s clear why the NYT suppressed it, and then ran it later, obviously to up their “impartial and sympathetic” cred after Biden was safely elected (although not yet inaugurated; maybe they felt lucky for some reason).
It’s an excellent piece of factual and human interest reporting.
I am surprised she bought her editors’ run-around back then – but note that she did move to Substack, where she is a staff writer for Weiss (to whom, Wikipedia says, she is engaged, so maybe she left for personal rather than political reasons). She was a tech writer covering the Silicon Valley beat, so I have no idea why she decide to do a first-hand report on Kenosha.
https://archive.md/jXTIT#selection-307.0-307.170
Very long, very detailed, very very sad.
Almost certainly written before the Rittenhouse Event, as that goes unmentioned (and she doesn’t date her visit on her Substack post), and yet there is this eerily topical reference.
Concluding graf:
Cicero
The unhinged left would threaten the prosecutors because they were inadequate in framing an innocent White boy who killed two innocent Black Lives Matter protestors. Obviously there were more stones the prosecutors could have left unturned and made things worse for him. The prosecutors, to the unhinged, failed because they didn’t get a conviction, regardless of the truth. The state Senator said something about, ….well, shouldn’t just get to show up and shoot people….
The people on the left have not lost their everloving minds, they never had a working brain.
neo, my mistake.
Neo, I’m glad you found the strength to stick with it. Yes, it’s been a tough year for this sort of thing. We’ve gotten a good look at how the sausage gets made – sometimes with a fair amount of mystery meat thrown into the hopper. The explorations of the jury internal dynamics and reminiscences from others here have added to the picture substantially.
As you were Neo, I was dreading the verdict. I KNEW the jury was going to find Kyle guilty, especially with the deliberations taking so long. Never so glad to be wrong my whole life. That’s not to say I’m glad he killed two people and injured one. Most certainly I am not. As Nick Rekieta, who has done amazing work on Locals said, “if there’s no Rosenbaum, none of this would have happened.”
The reaction of the MSM to the verdict, while it should be infuriating, is actually amusing. They’re still maintaining Kyle is a vigilante, a white supremacist, crossed state lines illegally with a weapon, had no business being there, etc. Actually, the kid was extremely brave to enter what was a freakin’ war zone. Why was he there? To help, until things got ugly.
The mouths on the left should try this on for size: You’re 17 years old. A maniac chases after you, the same guy who said he was going to kill you, he catches you, yells f*** you, and grabs the barrel of your AR-15. What do you do? ADA Krauss said he should have taken a beating. Only it wouldn’t have been a beating. He’d be dead.
I hope this is an indication of the beginning of the end of the MSM. They didn’t get what they hoped for having assumed their lies would have had an effect on the jury. Thankfully, those 12 very brave souls looked at the evidence and rightly concluded Kyle Rittenhouse was not guilty. They deserve, not only Kyle’s gratitude, but ours. I hope their names aren’t revealed because we all know what would happen then.
At the Car Source lot, the vehicles are now just rusted pieces of metal, with seats completely burned through to their frames.
Blackened lives don’t matter.
Jacob Blake’s uncle made several hydrophobic “statements” following the verdict. Per John Derbyshire’s advice: this is a guy you don’t have a “conversation” with. Just avoid him and his “peeps”.
Along with all the above, thanks for sticking with this, Neo.
I hope you staying safe out on the Left Coast!
If you can, consider or continue to support Neo’s work.
Once you have the current narrative firmly implanted in your mind, like a lake bed of marl, there in no bottom there.
https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/486464/
The libel laws must be changed to make it easier for media outlets to be sued when they lie or put forth “facts” that are not true.
The Trump/Russia hoax, this Rittenhouse case are just two examples of how the media , in pursuit of furthering their left wing agenda – and fomenting violence – once again face zero real punishment , zero repercussions in putting forth total lies.
The “reporters” who write / read these lies and their producers / managers should all be liable as INDIVIDUALS, as well as the corporate entity that makes it possible (encourages?) the dissemination of lies.
And speaking of not facing any penalties for lying, when Zuckerberg and that Twitter guy (forget his name) go before Congress and simply lie , they know they will get away with it. There is no penalty they face for lying.
No need to mention the lies Hillary told Congressional committees. And her punishment was she got to run for President; and it’s result was far to close for comfort.
BLM’s statement on the verdict is interesting, for the fact that it’s so perfunctory. In light of what they usually put out, this could be taken as a grudging acceptance of the verdict.
https://blacklivesmatter.com/black-lives-matter-statement-on-kyle-rittenhouse-verdict/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=t9IEAahi2OFQzyP38bA2A_Eu7wvjeKZ.2iQXqW_aNOI-1637417251-0-gaNycGzNCGU
It could be that they recognize this outcome as a liability, or they may not actually care. There were tensions between BLM’s people and the same element of rioters during that entire period. So they know who he was dealing with and probably have all along.
Regarding BLM and Antifa, and the media, is there a hierarchy among useful idiots?
It’s clear that justice was actually served in this case. But Rittenhouse did not get away unscathed. The process is the punishment.
JohnTyler,
Only an escalation of their lying and deceitful tactics will result when their is no legal consequence for the individuals involved. But it will take a constitutional amendment to accomplish that but given the public’s division, its a ‘non-starter’.
Given the left’s ideological imperative to impose the tyranny of their created majority upon America, coupled with the left’s weaponization of the legal and political fields, I see no constitutional process that can resolve our differences.
Yawrate,
Indeed, the left has weaponized the process. Same metric for reform applies as above.
“They’re still maintaining Kyle is a vigilante, a white supremacist, crossed state lines illegally with a weapon, had no business being there, etc.”. That exactly captures what so many think. The laws? Phooey.
The verdict was heartening. I’ll go further – if we, the people of this country, don’t vote dems out of office in the coming midterms, we will deserve what we get – our own version of China, which is already half way here. With the poor economy, bumbling executive, the whole police as criminals narrative, I’m hopeful we can tip the scale.
I always tell my wife that with the defeat of Trump in 2020, we are in the 2nd-3rd inning of a long, drawn out phase in this country. I don’t think the traditionalists are going to just roll over and accept the trouncing of our constitution. Nor are the idiot dems who love the progressive agenda going to stop their destruction.
We have a long way to go, folks.
The process is the punishment.
One might hope he is tempered, not shattered, by the punishment. He is one interesting kid.
I too thought Rittenhouse would be found guilty and thrown to the wolves, and I am glad that is not the case. I don’t think this is over yet, though, between Jerry Nadler’s call for a federal investigation and the manner in which Attorney General Merrick Garland has been operating. Expect more attempts at government intimidation.
If I could figure out how to post links, I’d post a link to a WSJ commentary I just read by Barton Swaim: “The Impossible Insurrection of January 6.” Swaim claims, correctly, I believe, that no coup d’état could have taken place because the legal, governmental, cultural and educational institutions in the US all back the Democrats and would have resisted at all levels. Please read the commentary — Swaim makes many good points and has good examples.
Neo!
What are you doing crossing state lines? Did you show your papers? LOL.
Seriously, the Left is cooking something up with this topic and it ain’t good.
The Left must be totally and completely CRUSHED in the next two elections. And in order to do that, the GOP has to FIX the election laws in the key states. The RNC needs to reverse engineer Mollie Hemingway’s “Rigged.”
Neo – Thanks for your thoughtful coverage. One question: you refer to “the relative incompetence of the judge …” My sense is that in high profile cases such as this, judges tend to let things play out with more patience so as to not be accused of bias and to avoid unnecessary sparring, and will correct things with statements to the jury, if necessary. Are there specific instances that brought about your conclusion? Thanks. T
T-Rex:
Yes.
The judge limited the questions to an unusual degree during jury selection.
He admitted that he had no idea how much political interest this case would have and how much coverage – including criticism of the judge and the threats to the jury – it would get. Impossibly naive.
Every lawyer I respect who listened to the judge’s jury instructions said they were tremendously confusing and increased the difficulty for the jury in understanding the legal issues.
He should never never have allowed the enhanced drone video “evidence” in as evidence. It was highly prejudicial, was not correctly sourced as to its provenance (a big no-no-no), the expert witness about it was not an expert, and no witness testified as to what it showed but instead it was the prosecution itself that attested to the supposed fact that the footage showed Rittenhouse pointing the gun at Ziminski. A travesty.
Just want to join all of you in thanking our remarkable blog-host for the extraordinary, superlative, indefatigable—and judicious—posting on this outrageous and excruciatingly difficult (from all points of view) trial.
(Now if the decent Left—one must hope that such a group exists—can only make some necessary reassessments regarding the party that many of them have been supporting and the media that many of them have been believing…. Well, one can always hope, I guess….)