Dozens gather in downtown Raleigh to protest Rittenhouse acquittal in Wisconsin
Dozens of people gathered near the state Capitol building in Raleigh Saturday evening to protest the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse in a fatal shooting at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020.
Rittenhouse killed two people and wounded one at the protest, but claimed he acted in self defense. He was acquitted of all charges on Friday.
In Raleigh, a crowd of protesters that started at about four dozen people grew to about 75 people by 5:15 p.m., with speakers leading chants that became familiar over the summer of 2020: “No justice, no peace!” and “Abolish the police!”
A few passers-by tapped their car horns in support as they drove along Morgan Street.
One woman rolled down her window and raised a bullhorn to shout at the group as she passed, saying, “Self-defense is not a crime.”
As the sun set and the street lights came on, the group energized around a series of speakers who complained that police and courts treat people of color unfairly.
”What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”
Another speaker said, “It doesn’t matter who’s in charge” because the criminal justice system is fundamentally flawed.
Participants included Blacks and whites and a range of ages.
Organizers had encouraged people to bring signs and many did. “Kyle Rittenhouse is a fascist right wing murderer,” one sign read. “We the people find him guilty.”
Walt Evans of Durham held a sign that read, “White supremacy is terrorism” and called the jury’s verdict “ludicrous.”
“When you carry a rifle over state lines to a peaceful protest, how could that possibly be construed as self-defense?” Evans said. “It’s absurd.”
After about an hour, the protesters marched down Wilmington Street, passing bars and restaurants whose patrons watched the proceedings through the windows.
Motorcycle police officers accompanied the protesters as they walked south on Wilmington. The officers blocked traffic and did not engage with the protesters as they chanted “abolish the police.”
The protest ended and the crowd largely dispersed by about 6 p.m.
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 5:16 PM.
