Rittenhouse: A Special Report From The Five (11/23/21)
Hey, welcome to The Five.
This is a tough one for me to write…because for four years I lived within blocks of the events of the Rittenhouse events, and personally know people who suffered because of the Kenosha riots.
I chose not to write about the Rittenhouse verdict on Friday…because there wasn’t time to properly assess what had just happened.
However, the entirety of this issue of The Five is dedicated to some of the lesser reported elements of “the new trial of the century.”
I hate to be such an open capitalist before diving into such a heavy topic, but my first ebook (and first piece of official merch) drop on Friday.
See a preview of the crewneck here.
If you find this content valuable, I hope you’ll consider making a purchase to support the ongoing publication of The Five.
You can buy the ebook & crewneck sweatshirt directly from the next issue of this newsletter.
This special report took a tremendous amount of research and effort to pull off, so can I ask you to spread the word about this issue of The Five?
[one] the potential mistrial
Although Rittenhouse was found innocent, it’s quite possible a guilty verdict would have resulted in a mistrial (meaning Rittenhouse could be re-tried) due to three factors.
A. MSNBC may have committed jury tampering.
B. The D.A. appears to have cropped a video and saved a lesser quality version before delivering a copy to the defense…which isn’t legal, and could have caused a mistrial, because the defense prepared a counter-argument for a version that was never shown.
C. The D.A. commented on Rittenhouse’ right to remain silent as an alleged admission of guilt, which is highly illegal.
Given the extreme emotions (and responses) to the not guilty verdict, I can’t imagine what would have taken place had the jury delivered a guilty verdict and the judge declared a “do over” due to the factors listed above.
[two] the kenosha cover up
At the beginning of the Rittenhouse trial, a firestorm of controversy ignited after Judge Bruce Schroeder ruled Joseph Rosembaum, Anthony Huber and Gauge Grosskruetz (the men shot by Rittenhouse) couldn’t be referred to as “victims,” since that’s what the trial existed to decide upon.
After Rittenhouse was acquitted, we found out that the undisputed victims, those who had their homes and businesses burned, were purposely ignored by the New York Times until after the conclusion of the 2020 election, according to former NYT reporter Nellie Bowles.
Bowles said she was sent to report on the “mainstream liberal argument” that vandalizing buildings for racial justice was not detrimental because businesses had insurance.
“It turned out to be not true,” Bowles wrote. “The part of Kenosha that people burned in the riots was the poor, multi-racial commercial district, full of small, underinsured cell phone shops and car lots. It was very sad to see and to hear from people who had suffered.”
Bowles said she filed her story, and editors told her it would not run until after the election, citing “space, timing, tweaks,” according to her post.
The piece eventually ran after Joe Biden won the election, Bowles said.
“Whatever the reason for holding the piece, covering the suffering after the riots was not a priority,” she wrote.
“The reality that brought Kyle Rittenhouse into the streets was one we reporters were meant to ignore.”
Bowles left the NY Times over the event (although it’s worth noting that Bowles now-wife, Bari Weiss, was essentially forced out of the Times, which likely played a role in Bowles’ resignation as well).
Bowles wasn’t the only left-of-center journalist to call out the cover up of the facts on the ground in Kenosha.
Ana Kasparian, host of the most popular left-of-center YouTube news and commentary show, The Young Turks, also changed her mind after looking at the evidence:
Look, these details matter, because if you're gonna make an argument that you acted in self-defense, there needs to be some proof that there was an imminent threat. What really mattered to me was how this unfolded.
Initially I was under the assumption that Rittenhouse was chasing after Joseph Rosenbaum, but I was wrong about that.
There have been countless accusations that the Rittenhouse trial lined up along partisan lines…but such broad generalities are almost never true, and certainly not true in this case.
As a former resident of Kenosha, I’m extremely thankful for Bowles’ bravely calling out the NY Times for ignoring the city’s poor who were victimized during the riots…even though that revelation appears to have little positive effect on rebuilding efforts.
Bowles’ sacrificed her own job at the nation’s most prestigious paper to bring the Kenosha coverup to light…and that’s a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark and tragic series of events.
[three] “anthony and jojo, say their names”
Many expected riots in Kenosha in the wake of Rittenhouse being found innocent on all five charges, but what we got instead was…much stranger.
A riot did break out in Portland, but hey, it’s Portland. The Wisconsin winter may have deterred immediate violence, but a group of openly armed protestors did March through the streets bearing AR-15’s, according to Breitbart.
Many of the group crossed states lines from Chicago with their weapons, including protestor Eric Jordan, who armed his 16-year-old daughter Jade with an AR-15.
Of course, none of this is illegal, which is why the peaceful march occurred without incident or police involvement, although it’s pretty difficult to understand how “capitalism” could be at fault for a riot that resulted in two shooting deaths that were deemed self defense.
Reese Witherspoon had a particularly bad take, where the a-list star contradicted the evidence the prosecution laid out.
To tackle those individually…
A. Rittenhouse did not cross state lines with the rifle. It was purchased for him by a friend and kept in Kenosha, which is already illegal. The penalties around purchasing a gun for someone else are already quite stiff…the Kenosha D.A. simply chose not to pursue the case, which should have received more attention during the media coverage of the trial. And if you're going to be against teenagers bearing rifles in city centers, that must include the counter protest.
Oh, and one more thing. Whatever you think of these laws, Rittenhouse was not doing anything illegal by carrying a rifle.
However, Gauge Grosskruetz, who Rittenhouse shot in the arm, was illegally carrying a concealed pistol after his concealed weapon permit had expired (it’s illegal to conceal a firearm without a permit, but not illegal to open carry).
Given that Grosskruetz was arrested for intoxicated use of a firearm in 2015, and had also been arrested on felony burglary, it’s highly probable he couldn’t renew his permit.
It’s very odd to be against one teen with a gun, but not another teen with the same gun.
Equally odd to be against a person legally carrying a weapon while painting the person illegally carrying a weapon as a hero, victim, martyr and “lone survivor” rolled into one.
B. In what world is it not safe to be a mega-millionaire with 24/7 armed security? How many celebrities surrounded by security have ever died in a riot? (Gonna go out on a limb here and guess “zero.”)
C. I guess we can all agree…Witherspoon will never vote for Bruce Schroeder, the Wisconsin circuit judge who presided over the Rittenhouse trial. Which is good…because voting in a state you don’t live is a federal front. (Although if Witherspoon would like to try, I assume she’d have better luck voting 45 minutes south in Chicago, where that kind of thing happens every election).
Also on Twitter, The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal publicly honored Rosenbaum and Huber, who were killed by Rittenhouse…despite Rosenbaum’s abhorrent criminal record, as pointed out by Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon.
Outside the trial (during the four day jury deliberation) protestors changed “Anthony and JoJo, say their names.”
That last bit, “say their names,” is a phrase that’s typically been associated with victims like Briona Taylor, who was accidentally shot and killed by police while sleeping during an alleged no knock warrant.
Lumping Rosenbaum, a convicted child molester who died with his hands on a minor, with victims like Taylor and Tamir Rice (who was killed by Cleveland Police while playing with a toy gun at age 12) is morally reprehensible.
It’s also an especially odd stance for BLM protestors to take, given that Rosenbaum’s final moments involved the convicted child molester screaming the N-word over and over again on video.
[four] the “other” (bigger) kenosha case
Alleged Sex Trafficer Randy Volar and his accused killer, Chrystul Kizer
Rittenhouse wasn’t the only teenager on trial for murder in Kenosha, and the lesser known case is likely the more important (but far less publicized).
Seventeen year old Chrystul Kizer shot and killed Randy Volar in Kenosha, and then set his house on fire. She’s been convicted of murder, despite overwhelming evidence Volar was raping and sex trafficking Kizer and other minors.
At the time of his death, Volar was under investigation for sex trafficking underage girls. Kenosha Police had served a warrant on Volar’s home and seized electronics that showed he had taken video of himself having sex with minors, including Kizer. Volar had been arrested during the investigation, but he was released as detectives continued to work on the case.
Kizer, of Milwaukee, allegedly met Volar through an advertisement on Backpage, a now-defunct website for sex marketing. She has alleged that Volar sexually abused her and was trafficking her to other men. Prosecutors have acknowledged in court that Volar was sexually abusing teenage girls and would likely have been charged with child sex assault had he not been killed.
While the appeals of the affirmative defense issue are pending, the prosecution has been on hold, and no trial date has been set.
Kizer has been free on bond since June 2020 after the Chicago Community Bond Fund, with help from other supporters, posted her $400,000 bond.
The key line being “prosecutors have acknowledged Volar was sexually abusing teenage girls.” And there’s video proof of Kizer being raped.
And she’s still being charged with murder.
Keep in mind, this is the same D.A. who charged Rittenhouse.
Kizer’s case is currently headed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where her fate will be decided.
The case bears eerie similarities to the Rittenhouse debacle because of the video evidence in both cases, and the age of the accused.
The Kenosha District Attorney really wants to put a 17-year-old kid away for life, apparently…and Kizer doesn’t have the celebrity attention or financial backing Rittenhouse enjoyed.
[five] the paradigm shift
There’s a theory that the two major political parties in the U.S. “switch sides” every 80-100 years or so (more on the last Democrat/Republican “switch” here if you want to know more).
The clearly unethical (and likely illegal) evidence tampering by the prosecutors has been a major wake up call to the right-of-center crowd who have traditionally rallied around a “don’t commit crimes, you won’t wind up in prison” mantra.
This is anecdotal, but from what I’m seeing, the lightbulb is coming on that the justice system is not always impartial and can be easily weaponized.
Which means the left and right should be in perfect alignment—there are certainly cases where corrupt cops and bad D.A.’s charge knowingly charge the innocent—and doctor evidence, bully the defendant and withhold information to gain a plea deal or conviction.
The Socialist Left (the most extreme wing of the party) now seem to be taking a stance that would have been associated with far-right Conservatism prior to the Rittenhouse case.
One glaring example is AOC campaigning to drop cash bail in New York in February 2020, then seemingly calling for “Law and Order” (a phrase NPR labeled a “racist dog whistle”) when Rittenhouse was released on bail just five months later, inferring the teen should be kept behind bars until his trial.
I bring this up, not as an opportunity to dunk on a member of “The Squad” (which isn’t difficult, but also not worth spilling digital ink over), but to highlight the “switching sides” phenomenon.
Similarly, the New York Times appears to (more or less) argue that “reasonable doubt” isn’t really fair, since the job of the prosecutor is more difficult.
I’m truly baffled (and heartbroken) to see this…a perfect moment for both sides of the political aisle to meet in the middle, shake hands, and craft policies that keep the innocent (particularly the innocent who are economically disadvantaged and not caught up in high profile trials) out of prison.
Instead, the proverbial boxers simply switched corners, ready for another round of pugilism.
Which begs the question…where does all this leave my former city?
Well…
…an 18 year old young man will never have a normal life, even though it’s one outside of prison walls.
…many working class and poor Kenosha residents lost something (or everything) in the riots, and are on their own to rebuild. The pro athletes and celebrities who have been so vocal about Rittenhouse don’t give a damn about the truly disenfranchised, apparently. I can think of no better example than the Milwaukee Bucks sitting out an NBA game around the events in Kenosha…but never donating money to the riots victims, nor sending a player or team rep to even visit. After the trial, the team, which has a 0% success record of helping anyone in Kenosha, promised to “continue to fight for better,” whatever the hell that means…because recent history has taught us it doesn’t mean helping poor people who lost everything to the literal inferno that burned up blocks.
…a teenage girl awaits the decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the rest of her life may be stolen simply for defending herself against a man who raped and sold multiple minors for sex. And nobody much cares.
…Kenosha has three fewer rapists: Jacob Blake, who’s injuries likely prevent him from raping again (Blake had a rape warrant open when he was shot by police), Joseph Rosenbaum, who raped five boys ages 9-11, and sex trafficker Randy Volar, who died at the hands of Chrystul Kizer.
…and finally, Kenosha appears to be on it’s own to rebuild from both the riots and the negative attention.. It’s hard to imagine the Rittenhouse trial won’t leave a proverbial stain on a city that pulls a large number of summer visitors to the scenic lakefront. In 2008, Kenosha lost a major Chrysler auto plant when the auto giant declared bankruptcy, and has spent the better part of 15 years rebuilding the local economy.
In an interview shortly after the trial, Kyle’s mom Wendy Rittenhouse commented “there are no winners or losers here. There were two people that did pass away, and their families are grieved.”
Indeed.
There are no winners here.
The Rittenhouse case does appear to be the “new trial of the century,” and while the nation held it’s breath and prayed prayers of protection (or condemnation) for Rittenhouse, the larger legacy isn’t around the freedom or imprisonment of one teenager.
The real “Rittenhouse Effect” is that the political right appears to have become more sympathetic to the plight of the wrongly accused (which you can affirm even if you believe Rittenhouse was guilty).
I have a (fading) hope that members of the political left who have long advocated for justice reform might reach out, but the conversation coming from the left side of the aisle at the moment is from strongly authoritarian voices, at a time where left populists could lead with significant and positive legislation around justice reform…if only someone would hear them.
From the position of the players on the field, it appears the right is willing to listen.
But like I said, it’s a fading hope that better laws could come about from this whole mess.
Which is tragic, as a nation.
But if you’re a poor person facing a Kenosha-esque D.A., it could be literally life ending.
With a heavy heart,
-sth