The case against Kyle Rittenhouse was almost over before it started.
With the defense and prosecution making their closing arguments Monday and the jury likely to decide Tuesday, it seems even more likely that he will not be convicted of murder.
Rittenhouse was protecting businesses in Kenosha, Wis. when he shot and killed two men. He defends self-defense.
Particularly pathetic was Thomas Binger, Assistant District Attorney.
The prosecutor tried to minimize some of Joseph Rosenbaum’s actions before he met Rittenhouse. He sarcastically intoned, “He tipped a Porta-Potty, which had no one inside it. He pulled a chain. He lit a metal garbage dumpster on fire. Oh, and they found an empty wooden flatbed trailer in the middle. They tipped it over to stop BearCats and set it ablaze. He also said some horrible words. He used the N-word. He mockingly waggled his finger and said “Tsk, tsk, tsk.” This could not have been a good idea for the jury.
And in a trial in which the defendant is being accused of reckless actions, Binger committed his own while attempting to act out Rittenhouse’s actions with his rifle. With the recent accidental shooting on a movie set in New Mexico still fresh in our minds, Binger sweeps the courtroom spectator section with the weapon and incredulously breaks firearms handling safety rule number one: Never place your finger on the trigger unless and until you have acquired a target you may have to neutralize. Yet another example of those prosecuting gun crimes with little understanding of guns.
What’s wrong with this picture?
— Beth Baumann (@eb454) November 15, 2021
➡️ He didn’t check to make sure it was clear.
➡️ He has his finger on the trigger.
➡️ Gun is pointed at people (likely the jury).
Firearm safety is on EVERYONE of us. He’s breaking all the cardinal rules. pic.twitter.com/rpBioQlvnh
Holy fuck
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) November 15, 2021
This is how you Alec Baldwin people https://t.co/2noXjJBZ79
This pic is literally "what not to do." https://t.co/tCj4z7i360
— Andrew Follett (@AndrewCFollett) November 15, 2021
Rittenhouse’s attorney, Mark Richards, rightly said the case “explodes in [Binger’s] face.”
Prosecutors who file unprovable charges to satisfy mobs almost always find themselves in court. First-degree intentional murder is the top charge. This is an unsupported overcharge. Witnesses and testimony reveal that Rittenhouse shot the men only after they had charged him. He hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard and pointed a gun at him.
Kenosha County Judge Bruce E. Schroeder gave one win for the state when he allowed the jury to consider lesser charges. It has obviously dawned on the prosecutors that their case isn’t solid.
Rittenhouse might be found guilty in court. But our president has not yet faced up to his actions. Joe Biden stated in September 2020 that Rittenhouse was a white supremacist. Will President Biden apologize if he is acquitted or bow to political pressure and allow the Justice Department to bring civil-rights charges against three white men? The latter appears more likely.
