Following a court verdict that cleared a United States teenager of murder on Friday, there have been calls for calm in United States.
Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, claimed he was acting in self-defense when he shot two men dead and injured another during racial unrest last year.
The not-guilty verdict has shattered the country.
Calm has been urged by officials as well as victims’ families, whose lawyers have stated that “justice, not more violence,” is required now.
On Friday evening, police declared a riot in Portland, Oregon, after 200 people began breaking windows and threatening to burn down the local Justice Center.
There were also protests in Chicago and New York, but they were minor in comparison to the widespread civil unrest that the United States has previously experienced.
When he fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and injured Gaige Grosskreutz, 28, in August 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Mr. Rittenhouse claimed he was acting in self-defense. He has been found not guilty on all counts.
All of the men he shot were white, including the adolescent. The incident, however, occurred during violent protests following the shooting of a black man, Jacob Blake, by a white police officer.
When the verdict was read, Jacob Blake’s uncle was standing outside the courtroom.
“We will continue to fight while also remaining peaceful. Let liberty ring, “According to Justin Blake.
Lawyers for Rosenbaum’s estate and Mr. Grosskreutz asked for “peace from everyone who is hurting,” adding that “what we need right now is justice, not more violence.”
The verdict “sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street,” according to Mr. Huber’s family.
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Mr. Rittenhouse is now in an undisclosed location, according to a spokesman for his family.
“There are no winners in this situation; there are two people who lost their lives, and that is not lost on us,” they said.
Both sides have expressed strong feelings in response to the verdict.
Many people believe that if Mr Rittenhouse had been a black man, he would not have been acquitted.
The verdict, according to Derrick Johnson, president of the civil rights organization NAACP, “is a reminder of the treacherous role that white supremacy and privilege play within our justice system.”
The “outrageous and dangerous” verdict, according to prominent civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton, will encourage vigilantes to use violence to assert their power.
“These are still dark days for black people killed by people who believe our lives don’t matter,” he said in a statement.
Vice President Kamala Harris said on Twitter that the verdict “speaks for itself,” but that “there’s still a lot more work to be done” to make the criminal justice system more equitable.
Concerns have also been raised about the legal precedent it may set for future cases.
California Governor Gavin Newsom stated, “America today: you can break the law, carry around military-grade weapons, shoot and kill people, and get away with it.”
President Joe Biden stated that while he was “angry and concerned” about the verdict, “the jury has spoken.”
Conservatives regard Mr. Rittenhouse as a patriot who asserted his right to bear arms and defend himself, despite the fact that he was 17 at the time of the shooting and thus too young to legally own the assault-style rifle.
Former President Donald Trump congratulated him in an emailed statement to his supporters. “If that isn’t self-defense, I don’t know what is!” he wrote.
Several Republican lawmakers have expressed interest in providing Mr Rittenhouse with a congressional internship.
Madison Cawthorn, a representative from North Carolina, said on Instagram: “You have a right to defend yourself, to be armed, to be dangerous, and to be moral.”
Following the verdict, Tucker Carlson, a right-wing Fox News host, posted a clip of an exclusive interview with the teen, which will air on Monday.
“The jury reached the correct verdict – self-defense is not illegal,” Mr Rittenhouse says in a video that appears to have been shot shortly after the decision.
He also discusses his “scary” nightmares about “what could have happened” if he had been “seriously injured, hurt, or dead.”
