Far-left Democratic Congresswoman and Progressive “Squad” Caucus member Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) tweeted that “[r]acism & white supremacy remain the bedrock of our legal system,” as the jury in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse found him not guilty on all counts.
“Racism & white supremacy remain the bedrock of our legal system,” Pressley tweeted from her official Twitter account. “My heart breaks for the family & loved ones of those whose lives were stolen, and the trauma our communities face today and every day.”
“The struggle for accountability, for justice, for healing goes on.”
Racism & white supremacy remain the bedrock of our legal system.
My heart breaks for the family & loved ones of those whose lives were stolen, and the trauma our communities face today and every day.
The struggle for accountability, for justice, for healing goes on.
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) November 19, 2021
Pressley previously drew harsh criticism in 2020 after she and fellow “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) called Rittenhouse a “white supremacist” and “domestic terrorist,” respectively, on August 26, the day after Rittenhouse was attacked during the riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“A 17 year old white supremacist domestic terrorist drove across state lines, armed with an AR 15,” Pressley tweeted at the time. “He shot and killed 2 people who had assembled to affirm the value, dignity, and worth of Black lives. Fix your d*** headlines.”
A 17 year old white supremacist domestic terrorist drove across state lines, armed with an AR 15.
He shot and killed 2 people who had assembled to affirm the value, dignity, and worth of Black lives.
Fix your damn headlines.
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) August 27, 2020
Twitter users were quick to respond, posting screenshots of the tweet.
“Cori Bush, Joe Biden, Ayanna Pressley, Joy Reid, and others maliciously defamed Kyle with the intention of denying him a fair trial. They called him a ‘white supremacist’ and ‘domestic terrorist,’ without any evidence,” Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters tweeted in a thread reacting to the Rittenhouse verdict.
Cori Bush, Joe Biden, Ayanna Pressley, Joy Reid, and others maliciously defamed Kyle with the intention of denying him a fair trial. They called him a “white supremacist” and “domestic terrorist,” without any evidence pic.twitter.com/7LR94oTuZq
— Blake Masters (@bgmasters) November 19, 2021
“Never forget what they did to him,” Conservative social media strategist Greg Price tweeted, posting screenshots of Pressley’s tweet, along with those of then-candidate Joe Biden, New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries, and several celebrities.
Never forget what they did to him pic.twitter.com/4F1Djiq8ig
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 19, 2021
“If I were #KyleRittenhouse I would sue everyone who called me a white supremacist and a murderer, including and especially the politicians like @AyannaPressley and @IlhanMN and the pundits at @CNN and @MSNBC,” author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza tweeted.
If I were #KyleRittenhouse I would sue everyone who called me a white supremacist and a murderer, including and especially the politicians like @AyannaPressley and @IlhanMN and the pundits at @CNN and @MSNBC
— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) November 19, 2021
“Perhaps the most famous accusations came not from the media but from elected representatives,” tweeted independent journalist Drew Holden in a thread documenting the false narratives established by the media and public figures. “@AyannaPressley called Rittenhouse a ‘white supremacist domestic terrorist’ while @IlhanMN just went with ‘domestic terrorist.’”
“I ask earnestly: is this not libelous?” Holden concluded.
Perhaps the most famous accusations came not from the media but from elected representatives.@AyannaPressley called Rittenhouse a “white supremacist domestic terrorist” while @IlhanMN just went with “domestic terrorist.”
I ask earnestly: is this not libelous? pic.twitter.com/cKIG3yCaVu
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) November 19, 2021
A jury found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts Friday after he fatally shot two men and injured another during the Jacob Blake riots on the night of August 25, 2020. The Daily Wire reported:
Rittenhouse, who is now 18, lives in Antioch, a northern suburb of Chicago about 15 miles from Kenosha. On August 25 of last year when he was 17, Rittenhouse decided to patrol the downtown Kenosha area alongside other armed men in order to protect a used car dealership from looting and vandalism. The city had devolved into rioting over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man, by a white Kenosha police officer.
Rittenhouse took a medical kit and armed himself with a Smith & Wesson M&P15, which is an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle that police say his friend illegally bought for him.
While guarding the used car dealership, he was chased by protesters and ended up fatally shooting two people, Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and injuring a third, Gaige Grosskreutz. The defendant and the three men he shot are all white.
He was arrested and charged with five felony charges and one misdemeanor charge. The most serious charge was intentional homicide, Wisconsin’s top murder charge, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. The others were reckless homicide, attempted homicide, two counts of reckless endangerment, and being a minor illegally in possession of a firearm.
On Monday, the judge dismissed the misdemeanor firearm charge, which was considered the easiest charge for the state to prove. Previously, Rittenhouse was also charged with violating curfew, but that charge was dismissed last week by the judge as well.