As Kyle Rittenhouse finally takes the stand, the prosecution’s case against the now-18-year-old has effectively fallen apart. The judge was forced to throw out the charge that most obviously merited conviction, the violation of Kenosha’s curfew during its 2020 race riots, due to the prosecution’s failure to even make the case that such a curfew was imposed on the night of the shooting, and the prosecution’s own witnesses have bolstered, not undercut, Rittenhouse’s claim that he was acting in self-defense.

The Rittenhouse case never should have happened. Not only is this because the prosecution clearly should not have ever brought it to trial, but also because the riots that impelled Rittenhouse to go foolishly to Kenosha never should have happened. The police shooting of Jacob Blake was eminently justified, and the rioters who destroyed the Wisconsin city as a result were not only criminals but also completely unjustified.