RATM have weighed in on the recent not guilty verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, condemning his acquittal and suggesting racial injustice.
Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, fatally shot two men, Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and injured a third last year during a night of protests in Kenosha against police brutality.
The trial piqued the attention of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide and was followed closely, largely due to the fact that Rittenhouse is a privileged white male and the victims were of African American descent. The deadly event took place just months after the infamous killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
During the demonstration, video footage shows Joseph Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse. The footage also shows an unrelated gunshot going off – and sees Rittenhouse spin around and shoot a gun four times, with some of the bullets hitting Rosenbaum in the head and killing him.
As Rittenhouse ran off, he shot at two people, Anthony Huber, who was killed, and Gaige Grosskreutz who was hit by a bullet in the arm but survived.
After the fatal incident, Rittenhouse faced five felony charges – including first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon. On November 19th, the teenager was found not guilty on all charges.
The controversial verdict has enraged and upset people all over the world – including the band members of Rage Against the Machine.
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Taking to their official Instagram page, RAGM said, “Kyle Rittenhouse armed himself and killed people who were fighting for racial justice. He claimed self-defense.”
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The band also touched on some recent trials that have largely been believed to be racially skewed, including Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was shot in Georgia while on an evening run, and Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy who was killed while holding a toy hun.
“What defines innocence in America? Tamir Rice was executed by police for playing with a toy. Nobody was charged. Ahmaud Arbery went jogging and was murdered in broad daylight,” they posted.
“This is the settler logic of America’s founding myth: whiteness must cast itself as the victim in order to justify its violence against those resisting its oppression. Welcome to the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.” they posted.
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