More than 1,500 people donated to a fundraiser for a police officer who was fired for contributing to Kyle Rittenhouse’s defense fund.
The fund to support William Kelly, a Norfolk, Virginia, police lieutenant who was fired after the names of those who donated to Rittenhouse were revealed, had reached more than $60,000 as of Saturday afternoon.
Representatives of GiveSendGo started the campaign to right “an injustice we see happening right before our eyes.”
Kelly made the donation to the defense fund on Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo, writing: “God bless. Thank you for your courage. Keep your head up. You’ve done nothing wrong. Every rank and file police officer supports you. Don’t be discouraged by actions of the political class of law enforcement leadership.”
NORFOLK FIRES POLICE OFFICER WHO DONATED TO KYLE RITTENHOUSE AND WHO SAID HE ‘DID NOTHING WRONG’
Distributed Denial of Secrets, which describes itself as a “transparency collective,” revealed the identities of some of those who had donated to the Rittenhouse legal defense fund despite those donors using the website’s anonymity feature.
Kelly was placed on administrative leave following the revelation. City Manager Chip Filer said an investigation found that the $25 donation made by Kelly violated city and departmental policies. Kelly has the right to appeal his termination, according to City of Norfolk policy and local law.
“His egregious comments erode the trust between the Norfolk Police Department and those they are sworn to serve,” Filer said. “The City of Norfolk has a standard of behavior for all employees, and we will hold staff accountable.”
After a $10 donation from a paramedic in Utah was revealed, Jason Nguyen, a local journalist, knocked on his door seeking information. The reporter’s tweet about the incident went viral, and Nguyen’s actions were condemned as “frightening and un-American.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Rittenhouse was charged with two counts of first-degree homicide, one count of attempted homicide, possessing a weapon while under the age of 18, and reckless endangerment in connection with the shootings which occurred amid unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, said he traveled to Kenosha to protect businesses from rioters. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
