Trump Campaign Responds To Arrest Of Teen Suspected Gunman
On Wednesday (Aug. 26), a 17-year old was arrested in the overnight shooting deaths of two protesters and wounding of one, who were all standing against the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisc. The teen, identified by numerous media outlets as Kyle Rittenhouse, is now in police custody after video was released of the shooting incident.
Soon after his arrest, representatives from Donald Trump’s campaign weighed in, issuing the following statement: “President Trump has repeatedly and consistently condemned all forms of violence and believes we must protect all Americans from chaos and lawlessness. This individual had nothing to do with our campaign and we fully support our fantastic law enforcement for their swift action in this case.”
According to videos and interviews obtained by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Rittenhouse considers himself a militia member who was trying to protect life and property. It is also reported that Rittenhouse attended a Trump rally just this year.
Just three months ago, during the protests and looting associated with the police shooting death of George Floyd in Minnesota Trump issued a tweet calling for the military to move in to take control of the situation and saying, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Some are now saying that may have pushed Rittenhouse to act as he did.
Kenosha County officials charged Rittenhouse with first degree intentional homicide, according to CBS Chicago. He was taken into custody in Antioch, Ill., and his being held in a youth detention center. An extradition hearing is scheduled for Friday.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Department of Justice named the officer who shot Jacob Blake on Sunday. The officer has been identified as Rusten Shesky, who has been a member of the Kenosha Police Department for seven years according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
