PRA Statement, Resources, and Recommended Reading Rittenhouse Case Rested on White Supremacy and Victimhood Kyle Rittenhouse flashing a White power symbol in security footage obtained from Pudgy's Pub in Mount Pleasant on January 5, 2021 (Credit: Kenosha County District Attorney). Kyle Rittenhouse–seen here flashing a White power symbol and socializing with Proud Boys–became an icon of the Far Right after killing two White racial justice protesters and wounding a third amidst protests over the police shooting of a Black man Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI. The photo, taken after Rittenhouse’s indictment and before his acquittal, belies the innocent White male protector image cultivated by his defense team and abetted by Judge Schroeder’s biased rulings on what language and evidence was allowable in court. (Schroeder disallowed prosecution references to Rittenhouse’s casualties as “victims” but sanctioned the defense’s use of “looters” and “rioters” to describe the people killed and wounded by their client). Rittenhouse’s acquittal is consistent with centuries of American jurisprudence that regards White racial aggression as legitimate self-defense and the aggressor as victim. The trial’s outcome sanctifies White militarized masculinity as both innocent and heroic. Far-right groups, media outlets, and politicians are celebrating the verdict, contributing to a widespread and growing climate of impunity for acts of aggression and violence against Black and Brown communities, as well as anti-racist White allies. White vigilantes are currently on trial in two other high-profile cases. In a civil trial, organizers and key participants of the deadly 2017 Charlottesville Unite the Right rally await a jury’s verdict on whether they engaged in race-based violent conspiracy and related charges. In closing arguments in the Brunswick, Georgia trial of three White men charged with killing Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery, one defense lawyer argued the White assailants had a “duty” to pursue and catch Arbery. As in the Rittenhouse case, the defense has portrayed armed and lethal White assailants as acting in self-defense. Rittenhouse’s killings were among hundreds of instances of far-right violence and intimidation documented by Political Research Associates during the 2020 racial justice uprisings and election season. PRA stands with racial justice organizations and movements against the mutually reinforcing problems of racist vigilantism and systemic White supremacy and misogyny. In solidarity, Political Research Associates November 22, 2021 Resources and Further Reading Mapped Paramilitary and Far-Right Threats to Racial Justice: PRA has recently updated this interactive map of threats to racial justice protests to include incidents of violence on and around the insurrection of January 6th. Paramilitaries at Your Protest: An Activist Field Guide to the Far Right To keep our movements safe, we all need to better understand who these paramilitaries are, what threats they pose, and what to do when they are present. Recommended Readings: In the Lead-Up to the Election, Special Forces Train Civilians for Insurgency When Rittenhouse took the stand, he claimed self-defense & said he had come to Kenosha to protect businesses in the city. His rhetoric echoed that of Mike Glover, founder of paramilitary network American Contingency, which markets itself as an alternative to far-right militias. In her research, PRA's Cloee Cooper examined the rhetoric Glover promoted in the lead up to the election calling for patriotic Americans to seek weapons & trainings to defend themselves & their communities against BLM, antifa, and "cultural Marxists". Could Anti-Government Militias Become Pro-State Paramilitaries? In October 2020, Carolyn Gallaher and Jaclyn Fox examined how far-right militias might morph into pro-state paramilitaries. One of the biggest motivating factors they found in their analysis? Becoming enforcers for Donald Trump & allied Republican politicians. Class of 2020: Far-Right Candidates Reveal Where the GOP is Headed Following his acquittal, Rittenhouse has received internship offers from multiple GOP congressmen. In Jan. 2021, PRA's Cloee Cooper covered the political candidates who in 2020 set the stage for establishing far-right ideologies' place in government. Inform Your Resistance Political Research Associates | 1310 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!