Gavin Newsom Denounces Rittenhouse Verdict: We Just Sent the ‘Message’ That You Can ‘Kill People and Get Away With it’
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Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) joined the chorus of political leaders responding to Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal on all charges in Kenosha, Wisconsin Friday.
In a rare move for a governor, Newsom questioned the Wisconsin jury’s decision in a tweet that read:
America today: you can break the law, carry around weapons built for a military, shoot and kill people, and get away with it.
That’s the message we’ve just sent to armed vigilantes across the nation.
America today: you can break the law, carry around weapons built for a military, shoot and kill people, and get away with it.
That’s the message we’ve just sent to armed vigilantes across the nation. https://t.co/yiVLN2v718
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 19, 2021
A 12-member jury found Rittenhouse, 18, not guilty on five counts for the shooting of three men in August 2020 during protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Rittenhouse killed two men — Anthony Huber, 26, and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36 — and wounded a third, Gaige Grosskreutz, now 27.
Pundits and observers have warned of potential violence in the wake of the verdict as five hundred national guard members are in the area to help keep the peace and protesters remain outside the courthouse.
