Even before the jury delivers its verdict in Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial, it’s clear that the wildly overcharged case against the then-17-year-old boy from Illinois should have never been brought. Multiple videos and witnesses corroborated Rittenhouse’s claim that he acted in self-defense when he shot three fellow white men during a riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A remarkably political and unprofessional prosecution has confirmed that it is Rittenhouse, not those shot by him, who is the real victim of this unsavory saga.

At the same time, Rittenhouse is no hero.