While the prosecution has made several major missteps during the ongoing Kyle Rittenhouse trial, a verdict is still anyone’s guess. Yet, it certainly seems as if it would be a complete travesty of justice if he’s eventually convicted of murder in what appears to be a clear case of self-defense, much of which was documented on video.
Still, there are other things to consider aside from the outcome of the Rittenhouse criminal trial. In fact, I’d suggest that the issue should not and will not end there if he’s eventually found not guilty. Rather, such an outcome should represent the start of another legal fight, this time against those who defamed the teenager even as video evidence was widely available showing that Rittenhouse was not a “domestic terrorist” who showed up to murder people.
Let’s recall that’s exactly what the media and some Democrats accused him of being, though.
The comments from Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley were egregious at the time but are even more so in hindsight. As government officials, you would expect them to have some self-control in commenting on a matter that would almost certainly end up in criminal court. Further, they spoke while having no evidence whatsoever to back up their claims that he was a “terrorist” who targeted people for protesting in support of “Black lives.” By the morning of August 26th, the day those tweets were made, Townhall’s own Julio Rosas had already put out multiple videos showing that Rittenhouse had almost certainly acted in self-defense.
The media were no better. Here’s a supercut that shows just how far they went.
Obviously, staying out of prison is priority number one for Rittenhouse’s legal team, and that outcome will dictate everything moving forward. But you can bet they are already thinking about civil lawsuits, and they absolutely should be. What transpired after the shooting in Kenosha represented the news media and the left at its worst. Further, I’d suggest that those highly-public comments are part of the reason Rittenhouse is on trial at all. The entire spectacle we are watching right now feels like what happens when a prosecutor thinks Twitter is real life.
At the very least, some apologies need to be extracted in the end. Proving malice is always difficult in these cases, and I’m no lawyer, but it sure seems like there’s some stuff worth pursuing here. I can’t imagine that’s not the next step in the case of Kyle Rittenhouse.