The Kenosha, Wisconsin Guard's Call To Arms

"Hell no … there's no way. There's no way I would deputize people. Part of the problem with this group is they create confrontation. 

“People walking around with guns - if I walk in my uniform with a gun all of you probably wouldn't be too intimated by it because you're used to officers having guns, but if I put out my wife with an AR-15 or my brother with a shotgun or whatever it would be walking through the streets you guys would probably wonder what the heck was going on."

– Kenosha County, Wisconsin Sheriff David Beth

The police shooting of Jacob Blake has since sparked nationwide outrage and days of unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In an organized effort to minimize the spread of the destructive behavior, individuals and groups began exercising their own form of vigilantism.

The result? 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse has been arrested in Antioch, Illinois, on a murder charge following shootings in Kenosha on August 25 that killed two people during unrelenting, violent demonstrations over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. A Facebook account listed under Rittenhouse’s name included images of the young white man posting with a military-style rifle, as well as multiple posts expressing support for law enforcement.

Rittenhouse also did a video interview with the Daily Caller in front of a boarded up building. In the clip, he says …

"People are getting injured and our job is to protect this business. And my job also is to protect people. If someone is hurt, I’m running into harm’s way. That’s why I have my rifle; I’ve gotta protect myself obviously. But I also have my med kit."

(N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Patrick Marley, Sarah Volpenhein, and Joel Shannon. “Kenosha shooting: One officer fired all seven shots into Jacob Blake's back; Teen arrested in killing of protesters.” USA TODAY. August 26, 2020.)

Sheriff Beth said he believed the alleged gunman may have been a part of a vigilante group, another concern he cited with deputizing such citizens. Beth said …

"That would have been one deputy sheriff killed two people. The liability that goes with that would have been immense."

(“‘Oh Hell No': Kenosha Sheriff Says Vigilante Group Asked Him to Deputize Them

'There's no way. There's no way I would deputize people,' he said.” NBC 5 Chicago.

August 26, 2020.)

Repeated calls for armed vigilantes to travel to Kenosha to protect businesses following the police shooting of Jacob Blake spread across social media in the hours before the shootings.

Researchers at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Lab said in a August 26 blog post that multiple threads on Facebook and Reddit urged militias and other armed people to head to the protests.

Social media posts locally purported to call out those who riled up vigilantes ahead of the violence on the night of August 27 – even calling for charges to be filed.

(“Authorities Track Local And Online Calls For Vigilantes To Come To Kenosha.” Kenosha, Wi (AP and WLIP. August 27, 2020.)

Beth said that militia notices he saw on social media “looked like party invitations.” He said that deputizing citizens to provide law enforcement would entail such individuals coming under the umbrella of the sheriff’s office.

“Any patriots willing to take up arms and defend our city tonight from evil thugs?”

– Local Kenosha militia group post on Facebook

Kenosha Guard, the Wisconsin militia group that called for armed citizens to patrol Kenosha on Tuesday night, was small, recently formed and less a structured organization than a “general call to arms,” its founder, a former local elected official, told the Guardian.

Mathewson, a 36-year former Kenosha city alderman “known for clashing with city officials,” said he was upset at the unrest in the city after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

The group’s message, he said, was a call to Americans to exercise their right to bear arms: “If you love our city and don’t want to see it burn, get your guns and go outside.”

Kenosha Guard’s Facebook posts and planned Tuesday night event were covered by the conspiracy theory website InfoWars, and prompted a passionate response, Mathewson said, with private messages from hundreds of people, and thousands of people who indicated they might attend the event.

Mathewson, said that a 17-year-old “had no business being armed legally or ethically,” but the shooter is “responsible for his own actions.”

(Adam Mahoney Armed white men patrolling Kenosha protests organized on Facebook.” The Guardian. August 26, 2020.)

In a widely circulating video from Tuesday night, Kenosha police can be heard thanking and tossing bottled water from an armored vehicle to what appear to be armed civilians walking the streets.

“We appreciate you being here,” an officer is heard saying over a loudspeaker.

In one video, a militia member says cops told them they would "push" the protestors towards them because they knew they could handle them. And, yet another video shows Rittenhouse and another armed man identify themselves as local militiamen, despite Rittenhouse being from Illinois.

When asked about that interaction, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said, "Our deputies would toss a water to anybody" including Black Lives Matter demonstrators, but he would not comment on the statement made by a deputy saying the militia's presence was appreciated.

(Adam Rogan. “Police in Kenosha shared water, said they 'appreciate' armed group before two killed. The Journal-Times. Racine. August 26, 2020.)

Some bystanders said that the situation on the night of August 25 was so chaotic that it was unclear even to some protesters and media on the scene whether gunfire was coming only from militia-type vigilantes or also some local business owners standing guard with guns over their properties.

What the Hell?

Facebook posts recruiting vigilantes? Armed militia at protests? Teens with long rifles? This formula begs confrontation and deadly violence. And, this is exactly what happened. Business owners must be allowed to protect their properties; however, the presence of angry, public armed forces will certainly escalate an already explosive situation. Not only were two people shot dead, but also an emotionally charged teen has effectively ended his own life.

The Kenosha Guard militia are a group of citizens who claim to be "patriots" willing to take up arms and defend residents in Wisconsin from "evil thugs.” The group, which seeks “Armed Citizens to Protect our Lives and Property,” hosted events on Facebook until the violence. The militia showed up at the Black Lives Matter protests with weapons claiming to “defend our city.”

A post written to Kenosha Police Chief Miskins signed “Kenosha Guard Commander” said:

“As you know I am the commander of the Kenosha Guard, a local militia. 

“We are mobilizing tonight and have about 3,000 RSVP’s. Our effort has made the national media. I ask that you do NOT have your officers tell us to go home under threat of arrest as you have in the past.

“We are willing to talk to KPD and open a discussion. It is evident that no matter how many officers, deputies and other law enforcement officers that are here, you will still be outnumbered.”

(Quin Hillyer. “Vigilantes in Wisconsin are morally culpable for killings.”

Washington Examiner. August 26, 2020.)

These militia members are not patriots. That post to the police sounds like an invitation to a war, not a lawful pleading for justice. The armed vigilantes are provocateurs who are disrespectful of the law. Kyle Rittenhouse considers himself a member of the right-wing militia. And, he is reported to also have a yearslong affiliation with police cadet programs, with photographs on social media showing him in full uniform complete with a badge, arm patch and trooper-style campaign hat.

It is clear Rittenhouse was a misguided youth consumed with unwarranted passion. It is also clear that he was not the only vigilante responding to the call for armed resistance. This confrontation could have escalated into an all-out firefight.

National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial joined with the heads of three Wisconsin-based affiliates of the group on August 26 to issue a statement calling for action in response to the violence of armed groups attacking protesters.