Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021 | 2 a.m.
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When jurors found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty in his murder trial last month, watchdogs of far-right extremism warned that the verdict could fuel a rise in vigilantism among violent and militant groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
This was a well-founded concern. Rittenhouse’s acquittal sparked a celebration by alt-right groups like the Proud Boys and Boogaloo Bois, who took to social media to hail the teen as a hero for extremist causes. And with the jury determining that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense, it’s entirely plausible that armed right-wing groups will feel legally protected to show up at public places, provoke confrontations by pointing guns at people, then shoot those people and claim self-defense.
“This might be interpreted across the far right as a type of permission slip to do this kind of thing or to seek out altercations in this way, believing that there is a potential that they won’t face serious consequences for it,” one expert on extremism told National Public Radio. “I worry that that might end up being interpreted by some people as a proof of concept of this idea that you can actually go out and seek a ‘self-defense situation,’ and you’ll be cheered as a hero for it.”
Fortunately, that scenario hasn’t played out in the weeks since the trial. But it’s a threat that law enforcement must watch out for, especially with the Republican Party increasingly welcoming these groups into their ranks.
These extremists aren’t confined to the fringe of the party. They’re increasingly turning up as candidates. Take Nevada gubernatorial candidate Michele Fiore, a supporter of the sovereign citizen movement and the anti-government Bundy family — whose mob trained high-powered guns at federal law enforcement officers — or Texas legislative candidate Mark Middleton, who faces felony charges stemming from his participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection, where he allegedly restrained a police officer while his wife beat the officer.
Here’s a telling figure about where the GOP stands on violent extremism and the left: Shockingly, a Public Religion Research Institute poll found that 30% of Republicans believe that “true American patriots may have to resort to violence” to save the country.
Meanwhile, the party’s leadership has abetted extremist groups by passing laws in several Republican-controlled states aimed at punishing protesters. These laws, which were enacted amid conservative backlash to Black Lives Matter demonstrations and clearly targeted moderate and left-leaning Americans, include protections in Florida and Oklahoma for people who drive their cars into protesters on the streets, and harsh penalties in several states for minor acts of vandalism committed during protests. In the Charlottesville, Va., murder of Heather Heyer, a car was the weapon used to drive into a crowd of peaceful protesters; shortly afterward, a GOP governor and legislature made that a legal act in Florida.
Then came the Rittenhouse verdict — two protesters killed, one wounded, and Rittenhouse acquitted of all charges by a jury who ruled that he acted in self-defense. Extremist groups and gun-rights organizations cheered, and offered violence-fueled messages targeting the left.
“There’s still a chance for this country,” wrote one member of the Proud Boys after the verdict was read. Another stated, “The left won’t stop until their bodies get stacked up like cord wood.” Still others referred to Rittenhouse as a “saint,” a title these groups have bestowed on white supremacists who have committed racially motivated murders in Charleston; El Paso, Texas; the Chabad of Poway synagogue near San Diego; and elsewhere.
This is a dangerous mix: Armed extremists, a party that embraces or at least tolerates them, and a verdict in a highly politicized case that could be interpreted as a blessing to dispense street justice. Worse yet, GOP leaders are making a hero of Rittenhouse, including several members of Congress who said they would offer him an internship.
“Hard to describe how chilling it is to see members of the GOP and open white supremacists come together to celebrate a vigilante killing two people and getting away with it,” Cassie Miller, an extremism researcher at the Southern Poverty Law Center, tweeted.
Indeed. Now the Rittenhouse case has sparked calls by right-leaning advocacy groups for stronger laws to protect individuals carrying guns in public in the name of guarding against crime. The leader of a Wisconsin gun-rights group told Buzzfeed News that “sometimes we have to take personal responsibility for the protection of our communities,” adding that citizens need to be able to protect property and businesses.
This is a recipe for yet more chaos like the violence in Kenosha, Wis., where Rittenhouse shot those three people. It also opens the door wider for militia groups like the Oath Keepers and thugs like the Proud Boys to engage in vigilantism. And make no mistake, protests where people show up with guns are more dangerous than those without weapons — a recent study that analyzed more than 30,000 public demonstrations in the U.S. showed that armed protests were six times more likely to spark violence than gatherings without firearms.
The parents of Anthony Huber, who was shot dead by Rittenhouse as Huber tried to disarm him, said it well after the trial: “Today’s verdict means there is no accountability for the person who murdered our son. It sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street.”
Thankfully, another jury delivered a much different verdict on vigilantism in Georgia, where the defendants in the Ahmaud Arbery case were convicted. But the Rittenhouse verdict and the reaction to it by violent right-wing groups remain a concern.
