Former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard on Friday said the jury reached the “right” verdict by finding 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts and called for a “serious investigation” into the potentially political motives for bringing the charges against the teen in the first place.
“The jury got it right—finding Rittenhouse not guilty on all charges,” Gabbard posted to social media.
“The fact that charges were brought before any serious investigation is evidence that the government was motivated by politics, which itself should be considered criminal,” she slammed.
The jury got it right—finding Rittenhouse not guilty on all charges. The fact that charges were brought before any serious investigation is evidence that the government was motivated by politics, which itself should be considered criminal.
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) November 19, 2021
Rittenhouse was charged with fatally shooting two men and injuring a third while defending himself during riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was facing life in prison with no chance at parole.
When the verdict was read, Rittenhouse became overcome with emotion and collapsed to his seat. His family, sitting behind him, cried tears of relief, too.
WATCH:
WATCH: This is Kyle Rittenhouse reaction as all 5 not guilty verdicts were read. #KyleRittenhouse #Rittenhousetrial #Rittenhouseverdict pic.twitter.com/bngqpACL7X
— Kristen Barbaresi (@KristenBarbar) November 19, 2021
Last week, Gabbard defended Rittenhouse during an appearance on Fox News, The Daily Wire reported.
“The government absolutely failed to fulfill this most basic responsibility of keeping their community safe,” Gabbard said. “Kyle Rittenhouse shouldn’t have gone and done what he did. But … you know, he’s a foolish kid who, like others in the community felt like they had no other choice but to step up and to try to do their part to keep people safe.”
She also called out the media’s quick reaction to the event, which has proven false. “We remember very clearly that immediately after this incident, this tragedy occurred with Kyle Rittenhouse, the mainstream media, pro-Antifa politicians were very quick to say this kid is a white supremacist terrorist,” Gabbard told Fox.
President Joe Biden, as a presidential candidate, posted an ad about white supremacy that pictured Kyle Rittenhouse.
The Daily Wire’s Ashe Schow reported on the Biden ad in question in September 2020:
… Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden released a digital ad on his official Twitter account that included President Donald Trump’s debate remarks about white supremacists. As the debate transcript plays, images from Charlottesville, Virginia, are shown. Thirty-seven seconds into the ad, as debate moderator Chris Wallace is discussing white supremacy and mentions Kenosha, Wisconsin, an image of 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse is displayed.
Biden’s tweet explains, “There’s no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night.”
David Hancock, spokesman for Rittenhouse, slammed President Biden last week over the video.
“Don’t forget, the candidate for the U.S. presidency himself last year prior to the election called Kyle Rittenhouse a white supremacist,” Hancock told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “Joe Biden called him a white supremacist; that is appalling. I can’t even gauge how wrong that is.”
Related: ‘Justice Is Alive’: Social Media Erupts In Reaction To Not Guilty Rittenhouse Verdict
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