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Sunday, November 21st, 2021

For far-right groups, Rittenhouse’s acquittal is a cause for celebration

Author:     Odette Yousef
Source:     npr
Publication Date:     November 19, 20217:07 PM ET
Link: For far-right groups, Rittenhouse’s acquittal is a cause for celebration
Stephan:   The appalling decision by the jury at the Rittenhouse trial, in my opinion, is going to be seen by violence prone White terrorists as a get out of jail pass and that, combined with America's obsessive gun psychosis, means we are going to see even more White racist violence than is already happening. There are now numerous states in the U.S. where I would not go to any large gathering. I certainly wouldn't come here as a tourist.

In the minutes after a jury acquitted 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse on all counts, jubilation lit up on social media spaces where far-right extremists gather.

Armed participants walk at a Proud Boys rally with other right-wing demonstrators in September 2020 in Portland, Ore. Far-right groups celebrated the verdict in the Rittenhouse trial.
Credit: John Locher/AP

In one Telegram channel for the far-right Proud Boys, some noted they had taken the day off work to await the verdict. “There’s still a chance for this country,” wrote one. In another channel, a member stated that political violence must continue. “The left wont stop until their bodied get stacked up like cord wood,” he wrote.

Rittenhouse himself is not known to be a member of an extremist group. But the trial, which from its beginning became a cause and rallying cry among conservatives who champion gun rights, has been particularly alarming to extremism researchers.

As it played out against the backdrop of an increasingly polarized nation, experts of far-right movements say opportunists found a growing audience for their violence-fueled messaging that targets the […]

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