In the trial of the fatal shots during protests in Kenosha, Kyle R. speaks up. The Chicago police are preparing for a riot.
Kenosha – In the high-profile trial of the violent death of two people in anti-racism protests in the US state of Wisconsin in 2020, the defendant spoke in detail for the first time. “I did nothing wrong. I defended myself, “said 18-year-old Kyle R. on Wednesday (November 10th, 2021) at the trial in the Kenosha County Courthouse. At his testimony, the young man burst into tears in the meantime so that the judge briefly interrupted the session.
Serious protests broke out in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the summer of 2020 after the African-American Jacob Blake was shot several times in the back during a police operation. The case took place in an already heated political climate, because only about three months earlier, the African American George Floyd had been killed in a brutal police operation in Minneapolis.
Kenosha Trial: Kyle R. shot two people with an assault rifle
Kyle R., who was 17 at the time, shot two people with an assault rifle and injured another person. The white man had traveled to Kenosha at that time in order to protect his property from looting there, according to his own statements. He pleaded not guilty – but does not deny the act itself. However, he invokes the right to self-defense. The prosecution charges him, among other things, with two counts of murder. He faces a life sentence.
When he testified on Wednesday, the defendant asserted that he had not gone to Kenosha to cause trouble. He was threatened and shot because he feared for his life. The one man he shot chased him and grabbed his gun. The other hit him with a skateboard. “I didn’t mean to kill her. I wanted to stop the people who attacked me. “
Chicago prepares for riot over Kenosha trial
In Chicago, around 110 kilometers from Kenosha, emergency services are preparing for unrest related to the trial. The police canceled all planned days off for the staff for the coming week. If Kyle R. is acquitted of the allegation of murder, there is a risk of violent protests, the police fear.
A spokesman for the Chicago Police Department told Newsweek that all sworn officers would have a day off between November 12 and 15, “to increase public safety.”
Fatal shots in Kenosha: Donald Trump defended Kyle R.
Kyle R. is celebrated by numerous right-wing groups as a martyr who campaigned for public safety. The then US President Donald Trump also defended him in the election campaign and suggested after the incident that the young person had acted in self-defense. The three men R. shot were white. (tvd / dpa)
