Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old who last year killed two protesters at Black Lives Matter, the movement born after George Floyd’s death, has been found not guilty of all charges in the trial that sees him accused in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The man was accused of killing two people with a shotgun and injuring a third during protests in the summer of 2020. The young man, who was 17 at the time, claimed to have acted in self-defense against the protesters. The verdict had been expected for three days in an armored city for fear of protests.
Rittenhouse burst into tears after the verdict and collapsed to the ground before being helped back into his chair. Amid a strong law enforcement presence, several dozen protesters lined up on the steps outside the courthouse after the verdict was read, some carrying signs in support of Rittenhouse and others protesting.
The verdict ended the highest-profile US civilian self-defense case since a man named George Zimmerman was acquitted in the murder of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenager, in Florida in 2013.