Congressional Democrats’ celebration of passing the Build Back Better social spending bill in the House was cut short on Friday by a Wisconsin jury acquitting teenager Kyle Rittenhouse of all criminal charges brought after he shot three people and killed two in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
From calls for the Department of Justice to review the case to calling for new gun laws to claiming that the verdict “protects white supremacy” and is “incitement,” Democrats across the left-wing spectrum reeled at the result.
RITTENHOUSE NOT GUILTY ON ALL FIVE CRIMINAL CHARGES
New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, called on the Department of Justice to review the case.
“This heartbreaking verdict is a miscarriage of justice and sets a dangerous precedent which justifies federal review by DOJ. Justice cannot tolerate armed persons crossing state lines looking for trouble while people engage in First Amendment-protected protest,” Nadler said in a tweet.
Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Joyce Beatty called the result “unconscionable,” calling for criminal justice reform and gun reform legislation in a statement.
The Democratic members took a far different approach than President Joe Biden, who called on those angry at the verdict to “acknowledge that the jury has spoken.”
Missouri Rep. Cori Bush accused the judge, the jury, and the defendant of being “white supremacy in action.”
The judge. The jury. The defendant.
It’s white supremacy in action.
This system isn’t built to hold white supremacists accountable. It’s why Black and brown folks are brutalized and put in cages while white supremacist murderers walk free.
I’m hurt. I’m angry. I’m heartbroken.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) November 19, 2021
At least one statement, from Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney, contained factual inaccuracies.
“It’s disgusting and disturbing that someone was able to carry a loaded assault rifle into a protest against the unjust killing of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, and take the lives of two people and injure another — and face absolutely no consequences,” Maloney said.
The DCCC later corrected the statement.
Blake was paralyzed, not killed, and admitted that he had a knife before a police officer shot him in the back.
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Far-left members of the “Squad” had some of the harshest criticism of the verdict.
“Our justice system is broken. It protects white supremacy. The two people who were killed deserved justice and so did our communities who continue be targeted with violence like this,” tweeted Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib. “This painful verdict sends a horrifying message that bringing violence to a protest for racial justice is acceptable. It’s incitement, not justice.”
“Racism & white supremacy remain the bedrock of our legal system,” tweeted Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley.
There are two justice systems in America. It’s time to dismantle systemic racism & fundamentally transform our broken justice system.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) November 19, 2021
What we are witnessing is a system functioning as designed and protecting those it was designed for.
My heart still breaks for the communities and families whose grief now compounds, and the countless others who will be denied and deprived in similar scenes across the country.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 19, 2021
I’m heartbroken. If we’re ever going to tackle racial injustice in America, we have to admit our justice system isn’t working for Black, brown and Indigenous people.
Then, we have to transform it. It won’t be easy but I’m committed to organizing alongside you to make it happen.
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) November 19, 2021
Kyle Rittenhouse is living proof that white tears can still forestall justice.
A murderer is once again walking free today — our system is terribly broken. https://t.co/3FKF4c4R3t
— Adriano Espaillat (@RepEspaillat) November 19, 2021
