Salt Lake City, UT – Over 100 people gathered at the downtown Salt Lake Public Library, November 21, to protest the acquittal on all charges of far-right murderer Kyle Rittenhouse. This unjust acquittal stands as a stark reminder that the justice system of the United States is working just as it has been designed to, from its very inception. This ruling makes clear the mission of police and courts in justifying racist murder and terror on Black communities and all those who fight for justice against systems of oppression.

This emergency event, which came together through the combined efforts of a number of local activist groups, emphasized the need to keep fighting and organizing against racist, capitalist systems. Tying the recent verdict into the larger structures that it serves, Ermiya Fanaeian, representing Armed Queers, stated, “We need to abolish the system that was created to allow for this to happen.” Fanaeian continued “the system cannot be fixed, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Nick Godfrey, a local activist and organizer with Freedom Road Socialist Organization, stated, “Through solidarity and through organizing, we can gain power, we can stay ahead of these racist murderers.”

The persistent theme throughout each of the speeches was the inherent flaws present in this U.S. system, as well as the need for working-class and oppressed peoples to organize together to win victories that will never be bestowed by the ruling capitalist class. Drawing a line of continuity between the Rittenhouse acquittal and the history of this country, Deja Gatson, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said, “The U.S. capitalist ruling class has long relied on fascist, white supremacist, paramilitary violence at crucial moments to stabilize their system.”

This event saw participation from Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Black Lives Matter Utah, Utah Against Police Brutality, Salt Lake Equal Rights Movement, Armed Queers, and the Red Hive Collective.

#SaltLakeCityUT #PeoplesStruggles #KyleRittenhouse

San Jose, CA – Community members rallied November 20 to demand justice for Black Lives Matter protesters who were gunned down by Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse was acquitted on all counts.

The community observed that this ruling sets a chilling precedent in murdering progressives. The only reasonable explanation for Rittenhouse’s acquittal is a criminal justice system completely beholden to the racist status quo that rules the USA.

Only through joining an organization can individual build the collective power necessary to fight effectively for justice, equality and prosperity.

#SanJoseCA #PeoplesStruggles #KyleRittenhouse

As the event kicked off, rally attendees voiced appreciation, noting they found the action online after searching for a local response to the issue. Speakers across organizations stressed the importance of such a moment, placing the trial’s decision into context with progressives’ fight against white supremacy in the U.S.

“How is it that Kyle Rittenhouse got months and months and months of airplay? This is a recruitment strategy on the part of the fascist movement; they’re trying to build their base,” remarked Joseph Rosenzweig of the Workers Voice Socialist Movement.

Toni Jones of New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police pointed out how the same injustice system that failed to indict Rittenhouse is also failing to hold police accountable asking, “Why are cops policing cops?” and calling for real community control of police.

Demonstrators made it clear that vigilantes have no place in New Orleans. They carried an immense energy as their chants reverberated into the streets of downtown New Orleans, shouting “No justice, no peace!” and “Throw Rittenhouse in jail!” The event culminated in a demand for action. New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police (NOCOP) directed protesters to fight the injustice system right here in the city. They collected signatures on a petition for a Civilian Police Accountability Council, continuing the fight against police crimes.

Organizers included Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) New Orleans, the Communist Party of Louisiana (CPUSA), the Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition (OPPRC), and New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police (NOCOP).

#NewOrleansLA #PeoplesStruggles #KyleRittenhouse

Tampa, FL – At least 40 people gathered November 21 on a busy intersection off Hillsborough Avenue in East Tampa Florida to demand justice for the victims of right-wing vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse. Only days before, in a sham trial, Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges stemming from his rampage in Kenosha in August of 2020. The crowd chanted “How do you spell racist? K-Y-L-E” and “No justice, no peace, vigilantes get off our streets.”

Uniting around the demand to throw Rittenhouse in jail, the event was organized by the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee and Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society. The Tampa Bay chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Central Florida district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization also attended and spoke.

Speaker Caleb Ochsner of SDS said, “Many students are engaged in left-wing activism of all sorts. It's important for students to mobilize because the BLM movement is under attack and it's the biggest movement in recent memory. This is an issue of interest to people fighting for a whole range of issues because it gives the right the thumbs up on harassing and attacking us.”

The demonstration joined with a national call to action on the part of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

#TampaFL #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #TampaBaySDS #TampaBayCommunityActionCommitteeTBCAC #KyleRittenhouse

Tampa, FL – At least 40 people gathered November 21 on a busy intersection off Hillsborough Avenue in East Tampa Florida to demand justice for the victims of right-wing vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse. Only days before, in a sham trial, Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges stemming from his rampage in Kenosha in August of 2020. The crowd chanted “How do you spell racist? K-Y-L-E” and “No justice, no peace, vigilantes get off our streets.”

Uniting around the demand to throw Rittenhouse in jail, the event was organized by the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee and Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society. The Tampa Bay chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Central Florida district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization also attended and spoke.

Speaker Caleb Ochsner of SDS said, “Many students are engaged in left-wing activism of all sorts. It's important for students to mobilize because the BLM movement is under attack and it's the biggest movement in recent memory. This is an issue of interest to people fighting for a whole range of issues because it gives the right the thumbs up on harassing and attacking us.”

The demonstration joined with a national call to action on the part of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

#TampaFL #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #TampaBaySDS #TampaBayCommunityActionCommitteeTBCAC #KyleRittenhouse

Syd Camille Loving, chair of DAARPR, started off the speeches at the rally, condemning the acquittal of Rittenhouse as political repression against the movement against police crimes, and discussing how the American judicial system systematically sides with racist murderers like Kyle Rittenhouse.

Kawana Scott of DAARPR speech addressed the bias of Judge Bruce Schroeder in favor of Kyle Rittenhouse, and the stark contrast between the treatment of Rittenhouse and Black young people who have been persecuted by the U.S. government. Scott also discussed the impact of the acquittal on the movement against police crimes, in allowing far-right vigilantes to target protesters, and called for the conviction of Rittenhouse, stating, “We as a country can do better and will do better as long as we stand together and make sure that everyone else understands that this does not fly by night.”

Andrew Velasquez of DAARPR spoke about how the American government sides with racist killers such as Rittenhouse, and how the courts protect them, and the role of movement against police violence in opposing them. “We standing here today know the truth, Kyle Rittenhouse is guilty, the state is guilty, we've known that anyone willing to protect these inhuman institutions is rewarded and in turn protected, and anyone who stands against those things is punished or repressed,” stated Velasquez.

Notable Dallas activist Olinka Green gave a passionate speech demanding an end to impunity for racist killers such as Kyle Rittenhouse and George Zimmerman. “This country was built off the torture and rape and lynching of people of other colors. This country was built off the rape and killing of women and children, its hands are bloody with the blood of the innocent, and so if you think we will get justice in the court system, you're wrong,” stated Green.

A few Trump supporters tried to disrupt the rally by heckling at the speakers and laughed while the murders of the protesters were being discussed, but they failed to disrupt the protest, and left in defeat.

#Dallas #KyleRittenhouse #JosephRosenbaumAndAnthonyHuber #DallasAllianceAgainstRacismAndPoliticalRepressionDAARPR

Protesters called for justice for Rittenhouse’s victims, chanting “Anthony, Joseph, this one's for you!” Several passersby honked and cheered to show their support.

The march was peaceful, was confined largely to the sidewalk, did not feature the use of megaphones, and concluded before 8 p.m. Nonetheless, after the protest, four activists were detained by the Grand Rapids Police Department. GRPD officers completely blocked traffic on Division Avenue, using at least eight squad cars. Earlier, dozens of bike cops swarmed Rosa Parks Circle and the surrounding area, cowardly picking off protesters returning home.

“Being both a transgender nonbinary, and a person of color, having a dozen cops all with guns aimed at me, while I was forced to kneel with my back to them? It does something to you. Especially when it occurs on the Transgender Day of Remembrance,” said Shane Perdue, director of research and development with Justice for Black Lives, “It shows how the system was designed when those like Rittenhouse can walk free, while we, as peaceful protestors, are being relentlessly harassed and vilified.”

#GrandRapids #KyleRittenhouse #JusticeForBlackLives

Tallahassee, FL – Tallahassee Community Action Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Students for A Democratic Society held a protest, November 20, against the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two protesters in Kenosha. TCAC called an emergency protest the night before, urging community members to come out and fight against the white supremacist vigilantism.

Regina Joseph, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization denounced the acquittal, stating, “I am not surprised that this happened. That does not make my anger any less valid. Kyle Rittenhouse showed up to a protest, was met with police who talked to him, who knew what he was going to do, and allowed him to go into the protest. To ‘quote’ defend private property. Because in this country private property is more important than Black people.”

Joseph compared the lenient treatment of the racist killer to the treatment of Black Lives Matter protesters during the George Floyd Rebellion. “No matter what you do to fight in the most just way, it will be met with violence. We need to overthrow this racist, capitalist system, right now.”

Field director for the TCAC Delilah Pierre spoke about the incident and that November 20 was also Transgender Day of Remembrance, comparing the systemic violence transgender people face to the way the system supports white supremacist violence. Pierre stated, “Thinking about how many names, how many trans people have literally been killed by our system, by our state, by individuals who have been empowered to kill them, to murder them, without consequence.”

Pierre countered the claims made that Kyle Rittenhouse’s actions weren’t racist because he killed white people. She also pointed out the hypocrisy in the American justice system’s treatment of Black activists compared to racist and right-wing protesters, stating, “People in our own organization are facing more punishment than people who overran the Capitol.”

#Tallahassee #Kenosha #KyleRittenhouse #BLMTalla

Colorado Springs, CO – On the evening of November 21, activists from Colorado Springs gathered on the steps of City Hall to hold a candlelight vigil for Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum. Huber and Rosenbaum were in Kenosha, Wisconsin, protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake, when they were gunned down by right-wing vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse in August of 2020.

After the righteous uprising in Kenosha after the brutal shooting of Jacob Blake in August 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse took it upon himself to cross state lines and arm himself with an AR-15 with the intent of maiming or killing protesters. Despite a multitude of crimes including reckless endangerment, murder and illegal possession of a weapon, Rittenhouse was acquitted on all charges.

“It’s important to protest the Rittenhouse verdict because it sets a dangerous precedent for what constitutes self-defense. It shows right-wing militia that they can show up to these protests armed and intimidate and provoke and kill in ‘self-defense.’ It’s extremely dangerous,” states protest organizer Brandon Rincon.

Now more than ever, it’s important for all progressive-minded people to fight back against white supremacy and defend the people’s right to protest free from vigilante intimidation and violence.

#ColoradoSpringsCO #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #KyleRittenhouse

Jacksonville, FL – Around 80 people gathered at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Jacksonville, November 20 after the acquittal of racist vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse, demanding the Department of Justice file civil rights charges. Organized by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, they were joined by Florida State Representative Angie Nixon (who spoke), members of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, UNF SDS, Take Em Down Jax, Florida Rising, DSA Jax, Our Revolution along with other community members and activists.

The rally was started with chants of, “Do your job, DOJ, don’t let Kyle get away” along with chants of “Indict, convict, send Kyle Rittenhouse to jail, the whole damn system is guilty as hell.”

This mobilization was one of many mobilizations in over a dozen cities this past weekend called by the National Alliance against Racist and Political Repression.

#JacksonvilleFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #JacksonvilleCommunityActionCommitteeJCAC #KyleRittenhouse

Milwaukee, WI – Just after noon on November 20, over 120 people gathered at Red Arrow Park downtown to condemn the “innocent on all charges” verdict in the trial of vigilante murderer Kyle Rittenhouse. The protest was called for and organized by the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, UW-Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society, and the Wisconsin district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. All three groups had a presence on the ground in Kenosha last summer in the midst of the uprising.

The rally began at Red Arrow Park, but organizers quickly took the streets with the gathered crowd, with cars at the front and the rear to keep the marchers safe. They marched to the federal courthouse, chanting along the way, “Indict, convict, send Kyle Rittenhouse to jail!” and “Don’t arrest me, arrest the Nazi!”

Once the march reached the courthouse, speakers took center stage. The people in attendance heard from representatives of each of the organizations responsible for hosting the event as well as The People’s Revolution, whose membership turned out in support.

Adelana Akindes of UWM SDS spoke first, sharing her experiences protesting in Kenosha before and after Rittenhouse’s murder of Anthony Huber and JoJo Rosenbaum. On the night after Rittenhouse fled from Kenosha, Akindes was swept up by officers in unmarked vans. A successful nationwide fight was waged by National SDS, the Milwaukee Alliance, and their allies to free Akindes and the other people who were being held with her.

“They kept us there for almost two days, and they did it all because we were there for justice for Jacob Blake, justice for the victims of police crimes,” said Akindes. “It’s so infuriating because the day before, Kyle Rittenhouse was there and he murdered people, and he was able to go home. They didn’t target him like they did us.”

Akindes concluded with a call to action. “But there’s power in numbers. We have to organize. We have to imagine a world that benefits us and not the white supremacists, not the Kyle Rittenhouses. Get out there and keep fighting!”

The next to speak was Nadezdha Young Binter, a rank-and-file trade unionist and member of FRSO. After reading off a statement from the organization, she told the crowd, “This capitalist country and capitalism around the world has always been built on the hyper-exploitation of Black labor. You can’t fight capitalism without the participation of the people who are most oppressed by it; there is no end to capitalism without Black liberation.”

Mariah Smith of The People’s Revolution spoke next. TPR formed out of the spontaneous mass protests that erupted in Milwaukee in the summer of 2020 and went on marching every day for more than 200 days, and Smith was and is an integral part of their efforts.

“A 17-year-old can get driven across state lines – his mama don’t get charged with nothing; that’s child endangerment. But Black parents go to jail for using a different address so that their kids can go to a better school. There are Black mamas in jail because they wanted their kids to have a better opportunity, and this mama at home kicking her feet up because her son is at home,” said Smith.

Smith continued, “If Kyle’s name were Davante, he’d be doing 25-to-life. He’d have been guilty on every single charge. It wouldn’t have taken a couple days to deliberate. When they gave the deliberation instructions, they’d have been saying, ‘Guilty!’ ‘Guilty!’ ‘Guilty!’ And that’s our reality.”

Alan Chavoya, a leader with the Milwaukee Alliance, wrapped up the speakers stating, “You’ve got this people’s uprising in Kenosha over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. This kid sitting in his fucking house in Illinois thinks, ‘I gotta go over there and protect that property.’ Why is he thinking like that?”

Chavoya continued, “He’s thinking like that because when we were on the streets, they sent the National Guard, they sent the police, they sent everyone they could – the feds – to protect that property. That’s no coincidence. That’s how this system functions.”

After some last closing comments, the rally returned to the starting point at Red Arrow Park. Those in attendance were left with some words of wisdom from Justin Blake, the uncle of Jacob Blake, who said that this moment isn’t the end of something, but the beginning of it.

People were urged to continue the fight and to join an organization. As the chant goes, “The people, united, will never be defeated!”

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #KyleRittenhouse #MilwaukeeAllianceAgainstRacistPoliticalRepression

Milwaukee, WI – Just after noon on November 20, over 120 people gathered at Red Arrow Park downtown to condemn the “innocent on all charges” verdict in the trial of vigilante murderer Kyle Rittenhouse. The protest was called for and organized by the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, UW-Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society, and the Wisconsin district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. All three groups had a presence on the ground in Kenosha last summer in the midst of the uprising.

The rally began at Red Arrow Park, but organizers quickly took the streets with the gathered crowd, with cars at the front and the rear to keep the marchers safe. They marched to the federal courthouse, chanting along the way, “Indict, convict, send Kyle Rittenhouse to jail!” and “Don’t arrest me, arrest the Nazi!”

Once the march reached the courthouse, speakers took center stage. The people in attendance heard from representatives of each of the organizations responsible for hosting the event as well as The People’s Revolution, whose membership turned out in support.

Adelana Akindes of UWM SDS spoke first, sharing her experiences protesting in Kenosha before and after Rittenhouse’s murder of Anthony Huber and JoJo Rosenbaum. On the night after Rittenhouse fled from Kenosha, Akindes was swept up by officers in unmarked vans. A successful nationwide fight was waged by National SDS, the Milwaukee Alliance, and their allies to free Akindes and the other people who were being held with her.

“They kept us there for almost two days, and they did it all because we were there for justice for Jacob Blake, justice for the victims of police crimes,” said Akindes. “It’s so infuriating because the day before, Kyle Rittenhouse was there and he murdered people, and he was able to go home. They didn’t target him like they did us.”

Akindes concluded with a call to action. “But there’s power in numbers. We have to organize. We have to imagine a world that benefits us and not the white supremacists, not the Kyle Rittenhouses. Get out there and keep fighting!”

The next to speak was Nadezdha Young Binter, a rank-and-file trade unionist and member of FRSO. After reading off a statement from the organization, she told the crowd, “This capitalist country and capitalism around the world has always been built on the hyper-exploitation of Black labor. You can’t fight capitalism without the participation of the people who are most oppressed by it; there is no end to capitalism without Black liberation.”

Mariah Smith of The People’s Revolution spoke next. TPR formed out of the spontaneous mass protests that erupted in Milwaukee in the summer of 2020 and went on marching every day for more than 200 days, and Smith was and is an integral part of their efforts.

“A 17-year-old can get driven across state lines – his mama don’t get charged with nothing; that’s child endangerment. But Black parents go to jail for using a different address so that their kids can go to a better school. There are Black mamas in jail because they wanted their kids to have a better opportunity, and this mama at home kicking her feet up because her son is at home,” said Smith.

Smith continued, “If Kyle’s name were Davante, he’d be doing 25-to-life. He’d have been guilty on every single charge. It wouldn’t have taken a couple days to deliberate. When they gave the deliberation instructions, they’d have been saying, ‘Guilty!’ ‘Guilty!’ ‘Guilty!’ And that’s our reality.”

Alan Chavoya, a leader with the Milwaukee Alliance, wrapped up the speakers stating, “You’ve got this people’s uprising in Kenosha over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. This kid sitting in his fucking house in Illinois thinks, ‘I gotta go over there and protect that property.’ Why is he thinking like that?”

Chavoya continued, “He’s thinking like that because when we were on the streets, they sent the National Guard, they sent the police, they sent everyone they could – the feds – to protect that property. That’s no coincidence. That’s how this system functions.”

After some last closing comments, the rally returned to the starting point at Red Arrow Park. Those in attendance were left with some words of wisdom from Justin Blake, the uncle of Jacob Blake, who said that this moment isn’t the end of something, but the beginning of it.

People were urged to continue the fight and to join an organization. As the chant goes, “The people, united, will never be defeated!”

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #KyleRittenhouse #MilwaukeeAllianceAgainstRacistPoliticalRepression

Chicago, IL – A front banner read, “Stop white supremacy” as people hit the street in Chicago’s Loop on November 20 to condemn the injustice in the court in Kenosha, Wisconsin the day before. A jury complying with the instructions by a racist judge sent the message that white racists and police can kill with impunity while African Americans and other oppressed nationalities can be killed, tortured and jailed without justification.

The Black and Latino youth leading the march were outraged and confrontational with Chicago police when they pressed in on the march at its end.

The rally was called by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), with support from numerous organizations, including the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. At the rally, Jackson echoed the call from CAARPR which demanded that the U.S. Department of Justice file federal charges against Kyle Rittenhouse for the racist vigilante killings in Kenosha.

In the Rittenhouse case, Jackson said, “A federal crime has been committed, a hate crime. The DoJ must step in. Biden said in response to the verdict, ‘The law is the law.’ I don’t believe that. We must change the law to make it a just law.”

“Nobody has the right to cross state lines with a loaded weapon, kill two people and then go home.”

Using his trademark call and response, Rev. Jackson got the crowd to join in saying, “The police who shot Jacob Blake should be in jail.”

Jackson added, “The right wing doesn’t mind [Anthony] Huber and [Joseph] Rosenbaum being killed. Just like when Schwerner, Cheney and Goodman got killed in 1964.”

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #KyleRittenhouse

FRSO strongly condemns the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on all charges. This verdict is another example of how the police and courts work hand in hand with racist vigilantes to kill and injure African Americans, other oppressed nationalities, and all who try to fight to end police crimes.

In August of 2020, Jacob Blake, a young African American man, was shot in the back four times and three times in the side in by a white police officer Kenosha, Wisconsin. Coming less than two months after the killing of George Floyd, another uprising took place, with the African American community and supporters battling police.

Into this uprising stepped Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from across the state line in Illinois, armed with an AR-15 rifle. He ended up killing two protesters and wounding another.

Despite the outrageousness of his crimes, Rittenhouse was acquitted on all counts of murder, reckless endangerment and illegal possession of a weapon.

The FRSO hails the slain protesters Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, who were both local residents protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake. While African Americans and other oppressed nationalities (Native Americans, Chicanos and Latinos, and others) face the brunt of police violence, white Americans who protested racist discrimination have also been killed. We should never forget the beating and murder of white civil rights activists Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, along with local Black activist James Cheney, during the 1964 Freedom Summer by the police and KKK.

No criminal charges were ever made against the white police officer, Rusten Shuskey, who shot Jacob Blake seven times – Shuskey is back on the job at the Kenosha police department without any disciplinary action. What we have is a system that lets the police who shoot African Americans, and the vigilantes who shoot and kill those protesting police violence, to go scot-free. The police and courts are not here to provide justice, they are here to maintain the racist oppression of African Americans and other oppressed nationalities.

The FRSO calls upon all progressive people to protest this injustice!

Jail killer cops and racist murderers!

#UnitedStates #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #JacobBlake #KyleRittenhouse

The Wisconsin District of the Freedom Road Socialist organization rejects the sham trial and acquittal of racist murderer Kyle Rittenhouse.

From the moment 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse showed up in Kenosha, Wisconsin armed with an assault rifle, the state put him in a position to kill racial justice protesters and get away with it.

Rittenhouse was among dozens of armed racist vigilantes that confronted the righteous uprising last year that rocked Kenosha, after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Shocking video of Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back prompted mass protests to march on the Kenosha police headquarters. Democrat Governor Tony Evers deployed National Guard troops to occupy Kenosha and enforce a curfew in an attempt to quell protests for police accountability. Predictably, the military occupation quickly escalated to violence.

Trial witnesses testified that during protests on the night August 25, 2020, police and military troops were seen communicating with Rittenhouse and other right-wing vigilantes. Witnesses say the military and police drove protesters toward the position where Rittenhouse and other armed vigilantes were waiting, setting up the deadly confrontation where Rittenhouse murdered Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and seriously injured Gaige Grosskreutz.

Circuit court Judge Bruce Schroeder took extraordinary measures throughout the trial to ensure the verdict he wanted. After days of jury deliberations Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges. The acquittal of Rittenhouse is outrageous and disgraceful, but not surprising. The state again sent the message that white racists and police can kill with impunity while African Americans and other oppressed nationalities can be killed, tortured and jailed without justification.

After the George Floyd uprising, one of the greatest uprisings in U.S. history, millions of people are joining the fight against racism and police crimes, and against the racist, capitalist system.

There is no justice in this system for the victims of Rittenhouse and other racist vigilantes. There is no justice in this system for Jacob Blake, and the untold numbers of victims of police crimes. Only the mass movement of working and oppressed people against racist and police crimes can put the system on trial and win real accountability.

The Wisconsin District of the Freedom Road Socialist organization calls on every person who is outraged by this horrendous acquittal to join the movement for real accountability, justice and a socialist future.

#KenoshaWI #PeoplesStruggles #KyleRittenhouse

Kenosha, WI – On the evening of August 28, more than 200 people gathered outside the Kenosha Municipal Court building to demand justice for Jacob Blake and the victims of killer Kyle Rittenhouse. The rally was called for by the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, with support from UW-Parkside Students for a Democratic Society, Kenosha EquiTeens, Wisconsin Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the Chicago Alliance. Many in the crowd held signs that read “Stop police crimes! Demand a civilian police accountability council!”

“I am tired. I am tired of seeing my people dying at the hands of unfit cops,” said Alanna Carmichael, a leader with Kenosha EquiTeens. “I am tired of fearing for my brother’s lives whenever they leave the house. I am tired of fighting for the same justices that my family fought for 60 years ago.”

This protest came in the wake of several days of violence and repression at the hands of police, military and paramilitary. After the fatal shootings on the night of August 25, repression was used against the people in the city. Unmarked vehicles with people who claimed to be police but had no identification stopped people and took them into custody in the early evening and into the night on August 26.

Some of those who were swept up in this wave of mass detention were members of SDS. A mass call-in campaign was organized to get them, and others freed from jail. The call to action generated thousands of calls from all across the country demanding their immediate release. Two of the SDS members, Victor Garcia and Adelana Akindes, spoke at the rally.

“Lots of us were disturbed when we found out about the Gestapo-like police tactics being used by the federal government in Portland, Oregon,” said Garcia. “I had no idea what to expect when that unmarked car with several masked and armed men came out, rushing at me, with fear that it was white supremacists coming to end my life and the lives of my friends.”

Garcia and Akindes both spent more than 24 hours in detention. They were separated from each other after being snatched up, taken to undisclosed locations, stripped, and given orange jumpsuits and a number. They were put into cells with others who had been detained; Garcia with 15 other men and Akindes with eight other women. They were not provided masks despite the close quarters.

“I saw first hand the kind of culture that they cultivate there,” said Akindes. “They used every opportunity to dehumanize us, to make us feel like animals. The goal of them putting us there was to take us off the streets, to debilitate us so that we wouldn’t wanna keep fighting.”

After the rally, the protesters took the streets. They marched through working-class neighborhoods where many of the Black and Latino residents live. The marchers chanted things like “No justice, no peace, fuck these racist ass police” and “Jacob Blake” as passersby made their support known. Many people came out of their homes with their families and raised their fists. Cars driving by would throw their fist out the window and honk. Some even pulled over and chanted along with the marchers as they went by.

Near the end of the march, a few military trucks were spotted heading toward the protest. In a show of people power, the marchers stopped the trucks in the road. They put their signs in the windshield and shouted chants at them. Kenosha is currently occupied by a force of more than 2000 National Guard troops.

Kenosha police and other officials have doubled down in defense of their officers and their actions. The Kenosha police union released a screed blasting what is plainly obvious on the available video evidence as fake or misleading. Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis said that his officers did nothing wrong in allowing the murderer Rittenhouse to escape without being apprehended.

The situation in Kenosha remains tense, and with President Trump committing to a visit on September 1, it’s likely going to remain that way. As ever, the people will remain in the streets.

#KenoshaWI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #JacobBlake #KenoshaUprising #KyleRittenhouse

Kenosha, WI – August 25 marked the third night of the uprising that has engulfed Kenosha since the attempted murder of Jacob Blake at the hands of Kenosha police. It was also the deadliest yet, with several people being shot as reactionaries descended on the city. Two of those shot tragically lost their lives.

While the authorities, including the Kenosha Police Department, have yet to release any specifics on the situation, the people who were on the ground recording every moment have been hard at work piecing the available evidence together. As things stand, all of that evidence points to the racist killer being Kyle Rittenhouse, also known as Kyle Lewis – a white 17-year-old young man from Antioch, Illinois, just south of the Wisconsin border.

Reports indicate that as of 11:47 a.m. on August 26, Rittenhouse was arrested in his hometown and is charged with first-degree intentional homicide. Kenosha police and others allowed him to flee the city without attempting to bring him into custody. Rittenhouse is deemed a “fugitive of justice” and it’s stated that he “fled the state of Wisconsin with the intent to avoid prosecution” according to public records from the Lake County, Illinois Clerk of Courts.

Rittenhouse’s social media is riddled with images of him brandishing guns and posing in tactical gear. His photos are overlaid with blue lives matter and thin blue line imagery. He is seen in more than a handful of livestreams from Kenosha last night, carrying what appears to be some type of rifle.

There are specific videos that show Rittenhouse shooting one person in the head at point blank range in a lot between some parked cars. As he runs away from the scene, he can clearly be heard telling someone on a cell phone “I just killed someone.”

While these events are tragic, the story goes deeper than that.

After the events in Kenosha on Sunday and Monday, an event for an armed counter-presence for August 25 went up on social media that garnered thousands of views. The event was titled “Armed Citizens to Protect Our Lives and Property” and was hosted by a group called Kenosha Guard. While it had hundreds of responses, reports from the ground indicate that fewer than 60 armed militia types turned up on the streets.

After the initial shootings took place, several of the livestreamers caught up with a couple members of the militia. These militia members disclosed that the plan of the police had been to push protesters to the location that they knew these armed agitators were amassing. One of them on the video said, “You know what the cops told us today? They were like, ‘We’re gonna push them down by you so that you can deal with them and then we’re gonna leave.’”

This is exactly what happened, as cops and National Guard troops and at least four MRAPs (military-grade light tactical vehicles) advanced on protesters who had gathered first outside of the Kenosha County Courthouse and then in Civic Center Park. The protesters held their ground against these shock troops for several minutes before the soldiers employed a kettling tactic and rained down on them with teargas, rubber bullets and concussion grenades.

As the protesters fell back, taking cover behind dumpsters and makeshift shields and umbrellas, they ran into a heavily armed group of militiamen amassing at a gas station that was boarded up. The armed militia members immediately began to agitate the protesters as they were retreating from the police barrage. Shortly thereafter is when the shootings started.

The police did nothing to stop the shootings, nor did they attempt to disarm Rittenhouse as he fled from the multiple scenes of his crimes. Earlier in the evening, they had interacted with him, offering him water and telling him and the other militia members he was with that they “really appreciate you guys. We really do.”

The names of Rittenhouse’s victims have not been publicly disclosed as of yet, but from one of the videos online, it is clear that one of them was shot and killed while attempting to wrestle the gun away from him after he’d already shot into the crowd. These people died attempting to prevent others from being hurt or killed, and their sacrifice won’t be in vain. The protests in Kenosha will not stop until justice is won, for Jacob Blake and now for these martyrs of the movement, too.

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