OP-ED: Two and a Half Men
TL;DR: If Jacob Blake had not gotten involved, the two White women arguing in the street would have escalated into violence. Instead, he tried to intervene and got shot in the back by Rusten Sheskey while his children watched. In the protests that followed, an unrelated child named Kyle Rittenhouse got access to a gun, traveled 30+ miles to put himself in the middle of the protest with an un-deputized militia group. Rittenhouse shot and killed three people. The Kenosha PD let him escape, then waited days to bring the murderous child into custody and press charges. Anyone who provided support of any kind to Rittenhouse or his allies in the Kenosha Guard militia has just supported a domestic terror group.
Please do not @ me with justifications for shooting a man in the back, or allowing any child access to a high-powered assault rifle.
There are several instances in American pop culture where we draw our behaviors from various cultural or social mores. Some call it chivalry, the “bro code”, while others regard such constructs as restrictive and discriminatory. The most relevant of these in today’s article are the ideas women should not fight because it’s “un-ladylike”, men should not shoot each other in the back for fear of being branded a coward, and citizens should not betray their countrymen.
This article’s subject is the recent Jacob Blake shooting by Kenosha PD and the Kyle Rittenhouse shooting that happened during the protests against the previous event: I’m going to speculate hard AF about all this (including the order of events) and construct a narrative based on aggregate online research in the news, on legal sites, and government websites.
(1) JACOB BLAKE
Jacob Blake is a 29-year-old African-American man from Kenosha, WI. According to eyewitness reports, Mr. Blake tried to intervene in a verbal altercation between two White females on the early evening of August 23, 2020. NOTE: Mr. Blake is NOT a police officer or a recognized mediator. That day, he had his three sons with him. According to some accounts, one of the women was his ex-girlfriend who had a restraining order against Mr. Blake. While Mr. Blake tried to calm the situation, the ex-girlfriend called 9–1–1 and said her ex-boyfriend Mr. Blake was near her residence and he was not supposed to be there due to said restraining order. Two Kenosha Police Department officers were dispatched: Ofc. Rusten Sheskey and a second unidentified officer and arrived on-scene around 5 PM local time. During the encounter, a third unidentified officer arrived on scene and got involved. The officers chose to focus on Mr. Blake instead of the two feuding women, due to the violation of the restraining order. At some point, Mr. Blake is physically assaulted by the police officers and tries to get away from the police and is chased around his own car counter-clockwise from the driver’s-side door. Tasers were utilized to apprehend Mr. Blake, but were ineffective.
At this point and probably earlier, someone began to record video of the event due to the large amount of noise. In the video taken of the incident, the officers are telling Mr. Blake to “drop the knife” repeatedly as he’s trying to escape the beating. Mr. Blake rounds the hood and bends over behind the front driver’s-side door (to get back into the car, according to eyewitness reports), and then Ofc. Sheskey arrives a moment later. Ofc. Sheskey held onto Mr. Blake’s shirt from behind to restrict his movement and fired his weapon several times, striking Mr. Blake seven times IN THE BACK at point-blank range. Bystanders and witnesses were both present. The officers provided assistance on site to Mr. Blake and called for an immediate medical airlift. Using the local high school as an airfield, Mr. Blake was airlifted to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, WI in serious medical condition. Mr. Blake’s three sons witnessed the entire event, but were physically unharmed. Mr. Blake was unarmed during the entire encounter with Ofc. Sheskey and the other unnamed officer.
According to police reports*, later investigation and questioning revealed an admission from Mr. Blake: he had a knife in the car. The knife in question was found under the driver’s side floor mat. In the video, despite repeated calls from the officers, Mr. Blake did not have the knife in his hand during the encounter, nor did he brandish a manufactured weapon of any kind (either manufactured or natural) toward any police officer during the encounter.
Mr. Blake has survived the shooting, but is now paralyzed from the neck down after the bullets ripped through his spine and intestines. He no longer has a colon or small intestine — they were removed due to the damage the bullets caused. Despite Mr. Blake’s permanent paralysis and inability to control his bodily functions, the Kenosha PD still handcuffed him to his hospital bed…because he’s still under arrest. Nobody knows what he’s charged with, and the cops aren’t talking about the charges. Not even about the knife.
(UPDATE 8/28/2020) The paralyzed Jacob Blake is no longer handcuffed to his hospital bed.
(2) OFFICER RUSTEN SHESKEY OF KENOSHA POLICE DEPARTMENT
If the Kenosha Police Department had any sense, I should have written this subject’s description as a police officer in the past tense. The only reason why I am not is because the Kenosha PD has chosen to clam up about the names of all three officers and not identify them, while keeping them on the payroll as of this writing (“placed on administrative leave” is not the same as “fired” or “behind bars”). Thanks to the release of his name by the Wisconsin Department of Justice that I know the shooter’s name is Rusten Sheskey.
Mr. Sheskey is 31 years old, has seven years’ experience on the Kenosha police force, takes his police duties as “a big responsibility”, and because he was not identified immediately he’s had more than enough time to scrub his social media of any evidence (affiliations, posts, etc.) that could have pointed to his need to shoot anyone instead of de-escalating, shooting a man in the back, or shooting a man seven times. If you’ve kept up with the George Floyd-Minneapolis debacle and to where it points, you’ll see that we may have a conspiracy on our hands coming out of some of the worst America has to offer and affecting our law enforcement (more in the Kyle Rittenhouse segment). The US. Department of Justice is looking into the problem, and I hope they aren’t stymied by current political trends in their search for why this happened. Hopefully we’ll also learn the names of the other police officers that responded to the location of the incident.
I know there are a lot of people who will say “Jacob Blake had a knife in the car and admitted it was there”, “There’s no conspiracy; why is it always race with you people?” and “Instead of filming and screaming, why didn’t anyone help him if they’re so concerned?”, but that’s ignoring quite a few things:
- Since Ofc. Sheskey wasn’t wearing a bodycam (neither Kenosha city police or Kenosha County sheriffs and deputies are required to wear them), we have the cameraman across the street that did shoot the video to thank for the point of view we have. If the video wasn’t made, there’d be no evidence — especially about WHEN the knife came into play. The cameraman has since been interviewed and has said he did not see a knife during the entire encounter. To that person, we thank you and we hope you stay safe. In the meantime, Kenosha WILL have body cameras next year, as decided in the Kenosha County board meeting back in July 2020.
- People were present — especially the young woman screaming in shock and terror not five feet from where Mr. Blake was shot by Ofc. Sheskey — but if killers operating under orders you know nothing about suddenly restrain and shoot an unarmed man, and you have no weapons or training in combat or weapons (if you had them), what would you do? You’d run away screaming, that’s what. Being shot in the back while your children watch should not happen in America no matter what you are or where you come from.
On the flip-side, if people immediately stomped a cop every time a person was being murdered by them, that would give select police officers across the country what they want: a reason to go full martial law on the people. They’d draw themselves behind the “Thin Blue Line” and make it an “us-versus-them” situation. Our country has seen this in every riot, in Tulsa and Watts and Central Park and Los Angeles. America is not alone in this, but we call other countries out on this kind of behavior: South Korea, China, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Mexico, Colombia, and so-on. This does not need to happen anymore. For this alone, we should never give them this reason — anytime, anywhere — because doing so allows them to abandon their humanity. If we don’t have their humanity to work with, then there’s no reasoning with them. The problem is that’s only part of the issue. - Everyone knows on some subconscious level White supremacists have infiltrated our schools, our legal systems, our workplaces, our media, our history, our individual cultures, our military and government. Hell, the entire concept of the “New World” that became the Americas was built on the blood/sweat/tears of minorities (both White and non-White), but it’s run by White supremacy — an attempt to establish a White ethno-cultural state bent on claiming the effort of non-Whites as their own.
We allow White supremacy, because to resist it is to risk our lives — our taxpayer dollars buy the guns and bullets White supremacists and their allies kill us with, the statues of slavers and defenders of slavery White supremacists chose to save were built using taxpayer money (and less often, donor money). Allowing White supremacy is a loser’s game: it will not sustain this country, no matter how many crumbs those leading its motions drop from their table and call “reform” or “equality”. - Not having a weapon in your hand does not mean you should be shot. Defending yourself from three people beating your ass does not mean you should be shot. Having a melee weapon in your car does not mean you should get shot. If anything, de-escalation should be the first step when approaching a suspect…like when cops approach White people with guns and their fingers are on the trigger and pointed at the officer. This brings us to our third party in this discussion, yet another White person with a gun who’s NOT a cop but wants to be one really bad: Kyle Rittenhouse.
(2 1/2) KYLE RITTENHOUSE
A resident of Antioch, IL, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was a lifeguard who wanted to be a police officer. He’s really interested in guns, is a fervent Trump supporter, and identifies with the “Blue Lives Matter” group as noted on his recently shut-down social media streams. He was affiliated with the Antioch Fire Department as a cadet, the local YMCA as a lifeguard (he was furloughed) and the Grayslake public safety cadet program in northern Illinois (they have since disbanded). Rittenhouse may be affiliated with a vigilante militia called the Kenosha Guard that attended the Kenosha protests on August 25, 2020. At some point on the day of the protest, Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha from his home in Antioch (most likely with the Kenosha Guard’s help), and there is photographic evidence of him cleaning graffiti during the day when he was in Kenosha. Please note in the photo above Rittenhouse does NOT have the firearm he would later use in the shooting of three people; this will be important later. The events of that night are a different matter altogether.
The night of the protests, Rittenhouse was guarding a used car lot called Bert and Rudy’s Auto Service with other armed individuals of the Kenosha Guard militia when he verbally confronted someone trying to damage the cars — the truth about what started this chain of events is unclear. NOTE: Rittenhouse is not a licensed private security contractor, nor is he a police officer. The other individual being confronted about the damage to the cars advanced on Rittenhouse, and the latter retreated but was pursued. It is unknown what happened to that person, but Rittenhouse was approached by his first victim. Said victim, 36-year-old Kenosha resident and father Joseph D. Rosenbaum, attempted to take the Armalite .223 assault rifle (similar in appearance to an AR-15) in Rittenhouse’s possession and was shot. After shooting Rosenbaum, he got on the phone with his fellow Kenosha Guard militia members and said while running away, “I just killed somebody.”
The sounds of gunfire brought others people running. “Get his ass,” the angry crowd cried, and Rittenhouse ran but tripped some distance away. 26-year-old stepfather and avid skateboarder Anthony Huber of Silver Lake was on top of him at some point, trying to get the gun away but was shot dead by Rittenhouse. Another person, 26-year-old West Allis resident Gaige Grosskreutz, approached with a weapon on his person, just as Rittenhouse sat up. The young killer had practiced with his firearm and put a bullet through Grosskreutz’s right arm, sending him fleeing. He then got to his feet and backed away, pointing his gun at nearby protesters as he escaped. Rittenhouse nearly harmed Daily Caller reporter Richard McGinnis in his escape. Reports say Rittenhouse delivered himself into Kenosha police custody. Given that he was White and part of the Kenosha Guard militia, he was not immediately shot and killed on sight while carrying a big rifle strapped to his body.
The Guardian: Chaotic scenes as gunfire rings out during unrest after Jacob Blake shooting [VIDEO] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_SYWopkb9w
In the wake of the murders, some believe Rittenhouse is some sort of saint: Some news pundits that he put his life on the line to “ maintain order when no one else would”, while select sports celebrities tout the killer as a “ national treasure.” Others have started crowdfunding movements to free Kyle Rittenhouse — many of which are faith-based, and have raised around $325,000 — even as GoFundMe deleted the fundraisers started there. He will however be defended by a Texas-based legal organization called Fight Back Foundation. Even worse, some of Kenosha County’s deputies and their Sheriff David Beth, along with Kenosha PD and their chief Dan Miskinis are OK with Rittenhouse and other militiamen killing protesting citizens and residents to “protect property”. These law enforcement officers have even gone so far as to say the victims were out after curfew and THAT is why they were shot — not the fact that there was a loose gunman working in tandem with the Kenosha Guard (an un-deputized militia group, thus citizens breaking curfew), claiming to protect property at the expense of shooting citizens, then claiming self-defense. Rittenhouse should not have been there that night past Kenosha curfew; he should have been in Antioch chilling out and not killing people.
The night Rittenhouse shot these people, the cops did not pursue until he physically came to them. Even then, the cops were warning him to escape as the entire protester crowd pointed at Rittenhouse and said to the cops, “He’s the shooter!” Some in the crowd believed the Kenosha police either didn’t hear or didn’t care; Sheriff Beth chalks that up to “tunnel vision” in policing the protests. This is untrue, as there are several videos online showing the EXTENDED police appreciation for the militia presence. “We really appreciate you,” law enforcement officers say from behind heavy armored vehicles, then throw water bottles at the miltiamen for their refreshment. “We really do.”
Sheriff Beth has also confirmed there was a militia in operation during the protests on that night, but did not name them and lamented their request to be deputized (which he wisely rejected). The night of the protests showed the lower-ranking cops did approve of the militia’s behavior. Given the presence of police association including providing Kenosha Guard with refreshments and encouragement, this would lean more towards material and emotional support for the Kenosha Guard by the Kenosha police. This runs contrary to Mayor John Antaramian’s request the militias be removed — whether local or out-of-towners — because they cause confusion on the streets. On the matter of prosecuting Ritterhouse, Sheriff Beth has delegated the job to law enforcement in Illinois instead of handling the case in Wisconsin….which is weird, since Rittenhouse was able to escape custody in Wisconsin AFTER TURNING HIMSELF IN and is still labeled as a “fugitive from justice”.
The problem is what was going on with the events surrounding the murders committed by Kyle Rittenhouse beggars closer inspection. Mr. Rittenhouse may have been radicalized online to join the militia in question, which caused him to attack American citizens, which effectively makes him a domestic terrorist. He was given material and emotional support by several other individuals, including Kenosha PD and Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department. That would make each and every police officer and civilian that effected his arming and escape as domestic terrorists or complicit in domestic terrorism.
There was a point in this narrative where Rittenhouse was both escaped and in custody, which means he could have been anywhere. I speculate he had been given time to wipe his social media accounts of any trace to his ties to the Kenosha Guard militia, which is one reason why Facebook has no record of Rittenhouse being a member. Despite Facebook’s decision to delete the Kenosha Guard Militia group page, there were preserved elements before the page was deleted — an invite to an event called “Armed Citizens to Protect our Lives and Property” from the Kenosha Guard Militia’s now-deleted group page on Tuesday, August 25th:
“Any patriots willing to take up arms and defend out (sic) City tonight from the evil thugs?Nondoubt (sic) they are currently planning on the next part of the City to burn tonight!”
Of course the Kenosha Guard’s moderators backed away from Rittenhouse after the murders with this post on Wednesday morning the 26th: “We are unaware if the armed citizen was answering the Kenosha Guard Militia’s call to arms. Just like with the shooting of Jacob Blake, we need all the facts and evidence to come out before we make a judgement. God Bless and stay safe Kenosha!”
There are also some legal considerations that would affect Rittenhouse’s ability to be prosecuted for his murders:
- OPEN CARRY: While open carry is not allowed in Illinois, they do have open carry laws in Wisconsin. The rules in Wisconsin say you have to be 18 (NOT 17) for open carry of a deadly weapon. There are legal loopholes on both sides of the state line: open carry of hunting rifles is allowed for hunting in the state of Wisconsin, even by people as young as 16 years old, and a gun owner in Illinois is required to have a FOID (Firearm Owners Identification) Card, but they must be at least 21 to apply OR be sponsored by someone 21 years of age or older who is eligible to apply. This means an adult signed for him to get an FOID Card, most likely a parent. But did he own the gun…and does it matter?
- GUN SALES AND OWNERSHIP IN ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN: Yes it DOES matter, because Kyle Rittenhouse was not old enough to buy or own the gun he fired that night in either Wisconsin OR Illinois. Notably, the cops didn’t pull him in on this violation, a Class A misdemeanor, when they saw him and gave him and his buddies water and verbal encouragement. This means the gun he used was purchased by an adult (most likely a member of the Kenosha Guard militia), then either gifted to, borrowed by, or stolen by Rittenhouse. This also means the adults that allowed Kyle Rittenhouse access to and retention of the firearm are accessories and accomplices to the murder of three people and should be charged accordingly with additional charges towards domestic terrorism.
WHEN he achieved access to the weapon is important: either he secretly smuggled the weapon into Wisconsin with his mother Wendy’s help (knowingly or not) OR he was given the firearm by someone in Kenosha at a point later in the day, perhaps the Kenosha Guard militia. But why? If he’s 17 and has a FOID Card, did he not tell the militia member person who gave him the gun his Illinois FOID Card (which is not the same as an Illinois CCP card) is only applicable in Illinois? This shows Rittenhouse lacks responsible thought, which is common in teenagers — even those that give outward signs towards conformity. Long story short: SOMEBODY GAVE A FIREARM TO A CHILD PRETENDING TO BE AN ADULT. - CASTLE DOCTRINE, ET AL.: During the initial confrontation, Rittenhouse had done what was normally taught in CCP (concealed carry permit) courses in Wisconsin — retreating to a distance and then opening fire. Though what happened might seem like a basis for the “stand your ground” defense used in Florida, Wisconsin does not have a law that works in that way or is named in such a manner. There is the “Castle Doctrine” in Wisconsin, but it would have to be in defense of home, place of business, or vehicle. Since Mr. Rittenhouse did not live at the used car lot, did not own the used car sales business on the property or any of the used vehicles present, his legal counsel should not be able to use that as a defense…but he did work at the used car lot, however briefly or in technicality. That is covered in Wisconsin law as well, under the rules for defending property against retail theft — which clearly states you can’t grievously harm or kill someone trying to steal, but you can use threats and non-lethal force. Unfortunately, working for the Kenosha Guard militia is not a job…especially since they don’t sell cars at all, let alone at that location.
- QUALIFIED IMMUNITY: Mr. Rittenhouse’s actions do not fall under “qualified immunity”, because no matter how much he wants to be a police officer (i.e., someone covered under qualified immunity), he is not.
Kyle Rittenhouse has since been taken into custody in Illinois and is now held in Lake County, Illinois (*sigh*) Hulse Juvenile Detention Facility without bond. He is charged with the homicides of two people: Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum. Mr. Rittenhouse is facing several charges: first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, first degree intentional homicide (which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison BTW), a misdemeanor gun charge, and 2 counts of reckless endangerment. I’d like to point out to you all: SOMEONE GAVE AN ACTUAL FIREARM TO A CHILD PRETENDING TO BE AN ADULT, ACTUAL ADULTS DIED, AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TRIED TO PROTECT THE SHOOTER.
[UPDATE 8/28/2020] The judge in Rittenhouse’s case has decided to delay the extradition hearing until September 25…at Rittenhouse’s request.
[UPDATE 9/2/2020] There is a current smear campaign online to vilify the three shooting victims (Huber, Rosenbaum, and the injured Grosskreutz) and Jacob Blake by pointing out their status as felons and violent offenders, almost as if those posting such information justifies their shooting. Let me make this clear: the government can turn you into a felon at the drop of a hat for any reason, depending who’s in charge. Things that are legal and protected by the laws of the land now (like protesting) can cost your right to vote when protesting is classified as a felony, all because you stood against those in power. REMEMBER: not all power comes from authority or moral high ground.
PARTING SHOT: Kyle Rittenhouse went to the Trump rally on January 30, 2020, before COVID-19 changed the face of group gatherings. The incumbent president’s campaign manager Tim Murtaugh had this to say about the Kenosha protest murders: “President Trump has repeatedly and consistently condemned all forms of violence and believes we must protect all Americans from chaos and lawlessness. This individual had nothing to do with our campaign and we fully support our fantastic law enforcement for their swift action in this case.”
[UPDATE 9/2/2020] Donald Trump supports Kyle Rittenhouse’s actions on the night of August 25, 2020 when he shot three people, saying Rittenhouse was attacked and had to defend himself. Additionally, Trump interviewed with Laura Inghram and during the seated meeting, he declared the police were under siege and has also compared police shootings and Officer Sheskey’s shooting of Jacob Blake seven times in the back as “choking” under pressure with poor metaphor: “But they choke, just like in a golf tournament, they miss a 3-foot putt”.
Officer Sheskey has yet to be charged for his actions.
Originally published at https://www.facebook.com.
