Two nights ago, a 17-year-old teenager allegedly shot three people, killing two in a Midwestern state. If the location had been Chicago and the gunman and those struck down by bullets had been African American young men on the Southside, the news would barely have made a blip on the radar.
But it wasn’t. It happened in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the suspect, Kyle Rittenhouse, and his three targets were all white males. They appeared on opposite sides of a violent melodrama that has been playing out across American cities for some three months now. No, the issues they were contesting weren’t whether black lives matter or the efficacy of demonstrations demanding police reforms. It wasn’t about George Floyd. And it wasn’t about Jacob Blake, the man shot four days ago by Kenosha police responding to a 911 call, an incident that sparked violent riots.
This is all about abdication of political leadership in Kenosha, Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, and other cities across the country. It is about what happens when we demonize and stand-down our law enforcement in the spirit of wokeness. It’s about the vacuum created, leading to untrained individuals and groups feeling it necessary to fill the security void. It is a dangerous and combustible mixture of inflamed passions, competing ideologies, and the flashpoint created by feckless politicians, derelict in their duties, and who have contributed to the volatility.
The unjust death of George Floyd on Memorial Day, while in police custody, has sparked months of civil unrest. But righteous protest and civil disobedience have since morphed into insurrection. Many refuse to acknowledge that multitudes of protesters are ignoring laws that govern our First Amendment, and a number of demonstrators are hellbent on violence, anarchy, insurrection, and lawlessness.
Last week’s Democratic National Convention involved four days of grievance-airing and defeatism. It also included zero mentions of the riots that are tearing our country apart.
And so, when progressive mayors and governors resist directly admonishing the thugs and allow them to act out in the name of social justice, believing the hostilities will exhaust themselves organically, they provide fuel for the criminality. They embolden it, encourage it — something I learned during a quarter-century in law enforcement. Criminals are opportunists, and they will seize upon any perception that leaders are spineless, weak, and too cowardly to confront them.
Which brings us to the intersection of Kyle Rittenhouse and the mob that returned Tuesday night to finish off the job of burning, looting, and destroying an auto dealership they had already damaged the previous night. Rittenhouse had heeded calls to defend businesses in Kenosha and had traveled from his home in Antioch, Illinois, less than 20 miles away.
Several videos posted to social media have provided some perspective on the shootings. Rittenhouse is clearly being chased by a mob, and one of the shooting victims attempts to club him with a skateboard. Yet another attempts to wrest away the AR-15 that Rittenhouse has secured to him via shoulder strap. Another of the pursuers is clearly in possession of a pistol and has part of his arm blown away by a rifle shot.
Wisconsin has charged Rittenhouse with first-degree intentional homicide. His likely defense will be that he was acting in self-defense. As with the Blake case (where the Department of Justice will conduct a full and transparent investigation of the evidence), I prefer awaiting the presentation of all the facts before making a pronouncement on guilt or innocence. But with what we know thus far, I believe Rittenhouse has a solid argument that he was in fear for his life.
Arguments have been made that Rittenhouse went seeking a fight and was a member of a militia, which some infer equates to white nationalism. During my FBI career, I came across militia groups during several investigations. They were typically anti-government zealots. But membership in a militia group is not ipso facto an indication of ties to racist ideologies. And while Wisconsin is an “open carry” state, Rittenhouse may have run afoul of Illinois gun law minimum age requirements — legitimate questions that a thorough investigation must answer.
But what appears obvious from an inductive reasoning standpoint is this: Feckless political leadership has helped create this hellscape of rioters clashing with armed individuals and groups who have had enough. Have we not witnessed enough statues and monuments being toppled? Have not enough American flags been burned in the name of holding America up to its ideals? Have not enough small business owners suffered as their livelihoods go up in flames? Have enough windows been smashed, stores looted, outdoor diners been screeched at? Surely enough cops have been injured by hurled rocks, bricks, frozen water bottles, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails?
We have ignored and tolerated the lawlessness for far too long. We have handcuffed our cops and denied them the tools and opportunities to quell riots, protect lives and properties, and put down these insurrections. Many people are single-issue voters. But in November, it will be less about immigration, abortion rights, or closing the wealth gap. It may very well be all about safety and security, defending (not defunding) the police, and the Second Amendment.
We reap what we sow. By enabling the environment that permits looting, arson, and attacks on courthouses and police precincts, progressive politicians contribute to the climate that leads to armed vigilantes opting to stand guard in front of businesses and homes. And when the mob (literal and online) descends upon the sentries like Kyle Rittenhouse, the outcomes are predictable and bloody.
Local and state governments must obviate threats to their citizenry. The continued nonexistence of law and order will only lead to more violent confrontations between rioters and those who have had enough.
James A. Gagliano (@JamesAGagliano) worked in the FBI for 25 years. He is a law enforcement analyst for CNN and an adjunct assistant professor in homeland security and criminal justice at St. John’s University. Gagliano is a member of the board of directors of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund.
