sycasey said:
Here's more evidence of Rittenhouse working with a militia on the night he shot those three guys. The SPLC has the archive of the Facebook post of one Ryan Balch, a self-described Boogaloo Boy who testified to having walked around with Rittenhouse on the night of the shooting.
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/08/30/wisconsin-man-who-says-he-marched-rittenhouse-kenosha-was-immersed-white-supremacist
Balch's post: https://archive.li/Ipz3Y
Quote:
Yesterday at 6pm i joined a contingent of militia along with two unaligned observers headed to Kenosha Wisconsin to protect citizens, their property and their livelihoods.
After infiltrating in Kenosha we found a group of militia made up mostly of males in their early 20's and late teens. Realizing that they were undermanned and had no leadership on ground at all. We joined them and I inserted myself into a tactical advisement role.
Quote:
We quickly setup an aid station in the building we were protecting. Kyle did most of that. We started leaving MHT and going into NML to retrieve wounded BLM and Antifa members providing them with first aid and helping them get to the hospital.
Quote:
The protesters went back and forth with KPD several times KPD up and down Sheridan. When KPD saw we were running an aid station they gassed us. So bad that I required medical care. As Kyle escorted me into the aid station they tossed us water and mockingly said they appreciated what we were doing.
There's also video available of Rittenhouse talking about what his "job" was while standing guard.
So yes, between all of that and his lawyer's statements it appears Kyle Rittenhouse was working with a militia group that night, even if he hadn't ever been a militia member prior to that.
So just to be clear, we' re now judging people by who they happen to meet or interact with at a riot/protest? Just want to make sure, because I'm pretty sure there are some pretty unsavory people at Kenosha on all sides. And I'm pretty sure the peaceful BLM protestors wouldn't want to be grouped in with (or ascribed the views of) the people on their "team" committing violence/property damage, but by your logic they would be. And that is exactly what the SPLC article does focusing entirely on the ugly views of some guy who Rittenhouse didn't even know prior to the night in question.
The video discussing his "job" doesn't suggest his "job" was part of his role in a "militia."
There is no evidence that Rittenhouse ever belonged to a "militia' before or after this incident or, for that matter, came to the protest with a militia or with the intent of meeting up with militia members. No doubt, Rittenhouse thought he would be protecting property and rendering aid - as he said. That doesn't make you part of a militia even if militia members come to the protest/riot with the intention of doing a similar thing. That seems obvious, yet you're wanting to conflate those things.
From Wikipedia:
"Kyle Rittenhouse was a resident of Antioch, Illinois, about 20 miles from Kenosha by road.[18][6][51] Prior to the Kenosha unrest, he had participated in local police cadet programs and expressed support on social media for the Blue Lives Matter movement and law enforcement.[52][6][53] On August 24, he drove to Kenosha to stay with his friend Dominick Black,[54][55] who kept a rifle he purchased for Rittenhouse four months earlier at his Kenosha home.[55][56] The following day, August 25, Rittenhouse helped clean graffiti off a school.[57] Later, together with Black, he arrived at Car Source.[58][59] Ac
counts differ as to whether Rittenhouse and Black's help was requested by Car Source. The dealership owner's sons denied that gunmen had been asked to defend the business,[60][61] but several witnesses testified that armed individuals had been directly sought out by the business to protect their property.[60]
In the hours leading up to the shooting, Rittenhouse appeared in multiple videos taken by protesters and bystanders and was interviewed twice: first by a livestreamer at the car dealership where he and a number of other armed men had stationed themselves, second by Richie McGinniss, a reporter for The Daily Caller.[13] Rittenhouse was seen talking with police officers,[13][62] and offering medical aid to those who were injured.[13] When McGinniss asked Rittenhouse why he was at the car dealership, he responded: "So, people are getting injured, and our job is to protect this business. Part of my job is also to help people. If there is somebody hurt, I'm running into harm's way. That's why I have my rifle, because I have to protect myself, obviously. I also have my med kit." At some point, Rittenhouse left the dealership, was prevented by police from returning,[13] and then headed to the Car Source lot farthest to the South."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenosha_unrest_shooting#Before_the_shootingSearch the entire Wiki article. There is no link showing he was part of a militia and google searches produce the same result.
