Official Statement by National Justice Party (NJP) Chairman Mike Peinovich
Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17 year old young man who shot 3 rioters in self-defense last night in Kenosha, WI has been arrested and charged with first degree intentional murder. This is unacceptable. All Americans and people of good conscience around the world must raise their voices against this outrage. The National Justice Party demands the charges against Rittenhouse be dropped and that he be released immediately.
Many videos have been posted online of the shooting incidents. All of them demonstrate that Rittenhouse acted well within his legal and moral right to self-defense. In the below video, Rittenhouse can be seen running from a violent mob of rioters as they chase him and incite each other to attack him. At one point Rittenhouse falls to the ground. It’s not clear if he trips or if a rioter has thrown an obstruction at his feet. As he falls, the mob descends upon him. Having no further ability to retreat, Rittenhouse fires, killing one man who was attacking him with a skateboard and injuring another man who was drawing a pistol. This scene was immediately preceded by a similar one a few moments before where Rittenhouse was chased and cornered by a violent rioter until he had no choice but to fire in self-defense. Notably, Rittenhouse does not indiscriminately spray gunfire into the crowd, and stops firing when the threat to his personal safety has ended.
(Warning, Graphic/Violent)
A crowd chases a suspected shooter down in Kenosha. He trips and falls, then turns with the gun and fires several times. Shots can be heard fired elsewhere as well, corroborating reports of multiple shooters tonight #Kenosha #KenoshaRiots pic.twitter.com/qqsYWmngFW— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) August 26, 2020
The predictable smear campaigns against Rittenhouse have already begun. Multiple narratives are being tried, some media outlets are calling him a “White supremacist” terrorist, others a trigger happy gun nut. Some have attempted to paint him as an out of towner that came to Kenosha to start trouble. One look at a map shows that Rittenhouse’s hometown of Antioch, IL is just a short distance from Kenosha, both cities being on the border of their respective states. Unlike many of the rioters who have been bussed in from all over the country, Rittenhouse was not foreign to the area. He had come to Kenosha with a group of patriots who saw the fires and the violence unleashed by the anarchists, and wanted to defend homes and small businesses from the mobs.
A forthright defense of Rittenhouse must be made, not only on legal, but on moral and philosophical grounds. The fundamental logic of the right to self-defense is under attack. Notions of law that say that the aggressor is the guilty party and that the individual retains the absolute right to defend their own safety are dismissed as “White supremacist” relics of the past. Guilt or innocence are not determined by the facts, but by the race and political viewpoints of the individuals involved. Black and anarchist rioters are treated as “peaceful protesters” by definition. Rittenhouse is condemned for being White and having a gun, and nothing more needs to be said. You could say it was a madhouse, but in a madhouse there would be a far better chance that a White man would get a fair shake.
Do not expect that the Republican Party will be there to defend Rittenhouse, or any White person. Already GOP politicians are wavering on the issue, trying to please their wealthy donors and hoping that their voters simply don’t notice their capitulation. They would rather this issue disappear altogether so they can go back to talking about tax cuts. The last thing they want is to be put in a position where they have to advocate for the basic rights of their White constituents, however hypocritically and unconvincingly. Don’t be surprised if more than one GOP politician condemns Rittenhouse publicly in the coming days in an attempt to curry favor with the media and donor class.
The arrest of Rittenhouse sends a clear message to the rioters. You have the right to physically attack White people. If a White person resists or defends themselves, they will be arrested and charged. The Second Amendment is hollow if the concomitant right to self-defense is not upheld in a clear, predictable and just manner. Rights cannot be granted or revoked based on the race of the individual. Whites in America must understand that our rights and our very lives are under assault from a hostile elite. Black lives matter and anarchist useful idiots merely carry out their wishes when they target Whites in street attacks. Racial solidarity among Whites and political solidarity among Right wing groups is absolutely necessary in the face of this onslaught. In that spirit we call on Rittenhouse to be freed and for all decent Americans to stand with us in defense of human rights and justice.
