[ad_1]
Donald Trump has appeared to defend the teenager accused of killing two protesters with an illegal firearm, suggesting he acted in self-defense.
The US president said 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse “probably would have been assassinated” had he not taken action during the chaotic scenes in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last week.
The Black Lives Matter protesters had taken to the streets after the police shooting of the black man Jacob Blake, 29, and clashes with law enforcement and armed vigilantes ensued.
“He was trying to get away from them, I guess, it looks like he fell, and then they attacked him very violently,” Trump said Monday, referring to Rittenhouse.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“It was something that we’re looking at right now and it’s under investigation, but I guess he was in big trouble. They would have probably killed him. It’s under investigation.”
The Republican president also did not condemn his supporters who shot paint pellets during a clash with counter-protesters in Portland, Oregon, over the weekend.
During the street clashes Saturday night, Aaron Danielson, a member of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer, was shot and killed, reportedly by a member of the far-left antifa network.
(Image: Gofundme)
Trump said he understood that it was a “peaceful protest”, adding: “Paint as a defensive mechanism, paint is not bullets.”
“His supporters, and they are his supporters in fact, they shot a young gentleman who … and killed him, not with paint, but with a bullet. And I think it’s a shame,” he told a CNN reporter .
Trump will visit Kenosha on Tuesday, but has no plans to meet with the family of Blake, who was shot seven times in the back by police.
The father of three was shot in front of his sons last Sunday and was paralyzed from the waist down.
Trump is reportedly opposed to the family’s wishes that attorney Ben Crump, who also represented George Floyd’s family, participate in any reunions.
However, Blake’s uncle, Justin Blake, told CNN that the family did not want to meet with the president because he is a “racist.”
Instead, Trump will visit law enforcement officials, the White House confirmed.
Spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said Trump plans to inspect the damage resulting from the protests after the shooting and meet with business owners.
He will make the trip despite encouragement from state and local leaders, including Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, to give up traveling there as the city seeks to heal.
Among the unauthorized ‘militia’ that took to the streets Tuesday night, claiming they were helping police defend their city, was Rittenhouse, who traveled from Antioch, Illinois with his AR-15 assault rifle.
(Image: Pick up)
The teenager fell while running down the street before being hit in the head by protester Anthony Huber with a skateboard.
Rittenhouse is accused of shooting Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum to death and wounding a third party.
He was arrested the next day and remains in custody in Illinois, but faces extradition to Wisconsin, having been charged with two counts of first degree willful murder and one of attempted first degree himicide.
He also faces a misdemeanor charge for possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor.
Rittenhouse’s attorney, Lin Wood, said his client “had a right to defend himself” after he was “attacked.”
Trump, meanwhile, also did not condemn the vigilantes’ actions, but added that the police needed to “restore his dignity”, although he admitted that they sometimes “drown.”
(Image: Getty Images)
“They have a quarter of a second to make some of these decisions and they make the wrong decision that is very devastating, but I’ll say this, I honor law enforcement.”
Governor Evers has written a letter to the president saying he is not welcome in Kenosha, but Trump said at the press conference that his visit “will increase enthusiasm and could increase love and respect for our country.”
“That’s why I’m going because they did a fantastic job,” he continued.
(Image: Internet unknown)
On Monday morning he tweeted without his insistence that the National Guard respond to the demonstrations “there would be no Kenosha at this time.”
Wisconsin is a crucial battleground for the November election, as Trump won the state by one point in 2016.
Democratic rival Joe Biden currently leads state polls by 3.5 points, according to RealClearPolitics.
(Image: REUTERS)
The former vice president accused Trump of stoking the violence with his rhetoric, while insisting that the rioters and looters be prosecuted.
“Tonight, the president refused to rebuke the violence. He would not even repudiate one of his supporters who is accused of murder for his attacks on others.
“He’s too weak, too scared of the hatred he’s aroused to end it,” Biden said in a statement.
Trump suggested that the violence would escalate if Biden won, and accused him of surrendering to a left-wing mob.
“In America, we will never surrender to the rule of the mafia, because if the mafia rules, democracy is dead,” Trump said.
[ad_2]
