Bay Area Reacts To Rittenhouse Verdict; Protest Planned

BAY AREA, CA — Hours after jurors found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty of all charges after fatally shooting two protesters last summer in Wisconsin, Bay Area leaders and residents spoke out about the verdict.

Some in the Bay Area — and across the nation — expressed a desire to take to the streets in protest.

Rittenhouse, 18, was acquitted of first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment and attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, on the third night of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, sparked by the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by a white police officer.

Rittenhouse was also acquitted of attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the shooting that injured Gaige Grosskreutz, now 28.

Rittenhouse's attorneys argued he fired in self-defense.

A demonstration was planned 6 p.m. at 14th Street and Broadway in Oakland to "demand the federal [Department of Justice] take action immediately," according to a flyer circulating on social media.

See also: Rittenhouse Acquitted In Fatal Kenosha Protest Shooting

A Sacramento protest in John C. Fremont Park was slated for 8 p.m.

Multiple protests across Los Angeles were also in the works.

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Livermore) was among those who addressed the verdict in Rittenhouse's case.

"Be pissed about the laws/bias that led to Rittenhouse verdict," he said on Twitter. "And we can partly blame the filibuster for allowing rigged legislatures to write those laws."

Be pissed about the laws/bias that led to Rittenhouse verdict. And we can partly blame the filibuster for allowing rigged legislatures to write those laws.

BUT celebrate the progress YOUR vote helped make today. @HouseDemocrats passed #BuildBackBetter to lower your major costs.
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) November 19, 2021

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who is facing recall, said on Twitter that the verdict "demonstrates that our work to make our legal system equal, fair, and just is more urgent than ever."

This verdict demonstrates that our work to make our legal system equal, fair, and just is more urgent than ever.

Prosecutors have a critical role to play in criminal justice reform and securing equal justice under the law.

We will continue our fight for justice.
— Chesa Boudin 博徹思 (@chesaboudin) November 19, 2021

Gov. Gavin Newsom said the verdict sent a message that in America, "you can break the law, carry around weapons built for a military, shoot and kill people, and get away with it."

America today: you can break the law, carry around weapons built for a military, shoot and kill people, and get away with it.

That’s the message we’ve just sent to armed vigilantes across the nation. https://t.co/yiVLN2v718
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 19, 2021

— Patch Editor Ethan Duran contributed to this report.