On 19 November, 2021, Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty of five felony charges stemming from his shooting of three individuals during the Kenosha, WI riots.  

His trial was a sham, poorly acted out by the prosecution who put a witness in the stand KNOWING that his testimony would prejudice the government’s case.  The crucial weapons charges were dropped based on a hunting law loophole clearly intended to make it possible for young people engage in hunting, not to give them the right to carry a loaded long gun everywhere.

The facts of the case are clear.

Rittenhouse was a minor in possession of a firearm when he killed those people, end of story; this is a violation of Illinois (his home state), Wisconsin (the state he was visiting), and federal law (the Gun Control Act), all of which mandate a minimum age of 18 to purchase/own/carry a long gun.

He could not legally be hired to provide armed protection for business property, as he says was the case, because he was a minor.  As it stands, the owners of the car dealership he was “protecting” stated under oath that Rittenhouse had NOT been hired by them.

He could not legally carry the loaded firearm in public as a minor unless in the company of a parent/legal guardian, which was not the case.  It was revealed during the trial that his mother did NOT transport him to Kenosha as has been widely believed.

He was in Kenosha as a minor that night in violation of a lawful curfew.

He violated Wisconsin and federal firearms laws regarding firearm possession.

He gave money to a third party to purchase a firearm on his behalf that he could not legally purchase/own himself - a straw purchase, and a federal felony (18 U.S. Code § 922).

His friend, 19 year old Dominick Black who says he bought the firearm in Wisconsin on Rittenhouse’s behalf, has admitted to violating federal law.  He executed a straw purchase, lying on a federal form, buying the gun on behalf of and receiving payment from an individual he knew to be unable to legally purchase/own the firearm himself; this is a federal felony carrying a $250,000 fine and a 10 year prison sentence.  He aided and abetted a minor to own/possess/carry a firearm in violation of Illinois, Wisconsin, and federal law.  He was charged with two state felony counts of supplying a minor with a firearm leading to death; he should also be facing federal felony charges relating to straw purchase and lying on a federal form.

If Rittenhouse had been protecting his own home or a business owned by his parent that evening using a firearm purchased/possessed by that parent in his home town/state, this would be an entirely different story; he would have been completely justified in the actions he took.

As it is, since the state of Wisconsin so badly bungled his prosecution, the DOJ should be prosecuting Rittenhouse and his friend on federal firearms charges.  Disagree with me all you want, he was not a hero, despite the fact that the three people he shot all had criminal records, and he gives those of us who ARE lawful firearms owners a bad name.

We the undersigned hereby call on the United States Department of Justice to bring all appropriate federal charges against Kyle Rittenhouse and his friend, Dominick Black, relating to their violations of the Gun Control Act and 18 U.S. Code § 922, to bring the justice that was denied as the result of the sham trial that so recently concluded with Rittenhouse being declared innocent of all charges.