By Tom Kertscher • November 15, 2021
Posted on 11/23/2021 9:16:42 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Kyle Rittenhouse tripped and fell as a group of people pursued him on the night he allegedly killed two protesters and injured a third.
But Trump’s claim leaves out vital context: that Rittenhouse ran away from protesters after prosecutors say he had already shot and killed someone.
Editor's note: This item was updated to make clear that we are rating whether Trump described what happened accurately, not the separate question of whether what happened amounted to self-defense or, as charged by local prosecutors, homicide and other offenses.
President Donald Trump visited Kenosha on Sept. 1, 2020 as the city reels from the shooting of a Black man by police and the shooting deaths of two protesters during a night of chaos.
Jacob Blake, 29, was shot in the back seven times at close range by Officer Rusten Sheskey on Aug. 23, 2020 as he walked away from officers and tried to get into an SUV with three of his children inside. The shooting left him paralyzed from the waist down, according to his family.
Two nights later, an Illinois teenager used an AR-15-style rifle to kill two protesters and injure a third, according to eyewitness videos and a criminal complaint.
The charges against Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, increased tensions in a city that was already on edge, with some condemning his actions and others saying he was protecting the city and only shot in self-defense.
In an Aug. 31, 2020 media briefing, on the eve of his visit to Kenosha, Trump defended Rittenhouse’s actions when asked about the teenager.
"You saw the same tape as I saw," Trump said. "And he was trying to get away from them, I guess; it looks like. And he fell, and then they very violently attacked him. And it was something that we’re looking at right now and it’s under investigation."
He went on to say of Rittenhouse: "I guess he was in very big trouble. He would have been — I — he probably would have been killed."
The president correctly describes some minor details about that night. But overall, his comments grossly mischaracterize what happened — leaving out that by the time of the events he described, prosecutors say Rittenhouse had already shot and killed a man.
In this fact-check, we are not examining the question of whether Rittenhouse acted in self-defense, as his attorney claims. We are examining whether Trump is providing an accurate description of what happened by focusing on only a portion of the events of that night.
He is not.
Let’s take a look.
Details of the Aug. 25, 2020 shootings have emerged through eyewitness videos and a criminal complaint filed in Kenosha County Circuit Court.
Here’s what we know:
Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, approached Rittenhouse and a reporter interviewing him that night and began to chase Rittenhouse after he did a "juke" move. Rosenbaum threw a plastic bag at Rittenhouse, but it didn’t hit him.
The two ended up in a parking lot, and the reporter told authorities that Rosenbaum tried to grab Rittenhouse’s gun. Rittenhouse fired four shots, and Rosenbaum dropped to the ground in front of him.
In a video, Rittenhouse can be heard saying on his cell phone, "I just killed someone."
Rittenhouse began running slowly down the street as a crowd began to follow him, with some people shouting "get him!" and shouting he just shot someone. Rittenhouse tripped and fell.
While he was on the ground, police say, he appeared to fire two shots at a man who jumped over him but missed.
After that, Anthony Huber, 26, ran up to Rittenhouse with a skateboard in one hand and appeared to hit him with it before reaching for Rittenhouse’s gun. Rittenhouse fired one round that hit Huber in the chest and killed him.
Rittenhouse sat up and pointed his gun at Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, who had started to approach him. Grosskreutz took a step back and put his hands in the air, but then moved toward Rittenhouse, who fired a shot that hit Grosskreutz in the arm.
Grosskreutz had a handgun. It is unclear whether Grosskreutz was pointing the gun at Rittenhouse, or if Rittenhouse saw that Grosskreutz had a gun.
Trump’s comments completely overlook the fact that people started following him after he allegedly shot and killed someone. He also claimed protesters "violently attacked" Rittenhouse, but that is not fully supported by the videos, either.
Witnesses say those who were chasing Rittenhouse were trying to stop him.
Rittenhouse later walked past a group of police vehicles, hands in the air, and ultimately returned home to nearby Antioch, Illinois, where he was arrested the next day.
What’s more, Trump suggested the matter is "under investigation." But while Rittenhouse’s attorney has indicated he would argue self defense, the teen has already been charged with homicide. It’s unclear what, if any, investigation would still be open.
Even before the comments, Trump drew headlines when he "liked" a tweet that said, "Rittenhouse is a good example of why I decided to vote for Trump." Rittenhouse, who is in jail awaiting extradition to Kenosha to face charges, is a Trump supporter.
Trump said a video shows Rittenhouse "was trying to get away from" protesters" and "fell, and then they violently attacked him."
Rittenhouse did fall as a crowd followed him, but Trump’s comments leave an incendiary and false picture: By the time he fell, according to criminal charges, Rittenhouse had already shot and killed one person that night.
We rate the claim False.
The White House, Remarks by President Trump in Press Briefing, Aug. 31, 2020
The White House, Press Briefing by Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, Aug. 31, 2020.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Much of Kenosha's deadly protest shooting was captured in social media videos. Here's what they show, Aug. 26, 2020.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kyle Rittenhouse was charged with homicide. Here's what we learned about the Kenosha shootings from the charging documents, Aug. 27, 2020.
Twitter, tweet from Tim Pool, Aug. 28, 2020.
Polifacts is a known Leftist lie factory. It has zero credibility as a “fact checker”. Anyone citing them should be laughed at as a gulliable fool.
Trump “He was in very big trouble”: Factcheck: True
VIDEO: President Trump defends Kyle Rittenhouse Aug 30, 2020
https://rumble.com/vphtce-president-trump-defends-kyle-rittenhouse-aug-30-2020.html
Politifact. A word with conflicting meaning, front to back.
Like furypeace.
I never trusted them in the first place. Fact checking only supports the left.
Never trusted this lefty outfit
https://www.poynter.org/ifcn-fact-checkers-code-of-principles/
International Fact-Checking Network
Have to be accepted by them to be a bonafide fact checker. It's a network of leftists that approve you.
Application process; https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TVH6Xduaz8lYxvnRfMzi85PMTxCseNoUQ-gcdqIsnoI/edit
Politifact and WAPO are board members
If you don't get approved by these leftists, your website won't show up in google searches for fact checking and won't be accepted by any social media outlet. We're on the left's playground when it comes to fact checking so it's best to just ignore all alleged fact checks and consider them misinformation.
Politifact is one step up from Snopes. Like gangrene is one step up from flesh eating bacteria.
I didn’t trust them before and certainly not after 🤪
The place is run by complete oxymorons over there, yes.
Politifact was wrong. Trump never claimed what Politifact implies, that Trump was attempting to describe the totality of the night’s encounters. Trump was absolutely correct in the actions he described.
Trump was correct in describing the totality of the threat against Rittenhouse, saying that Rittenhouse was in big trouble from that mob. Politifact lied by omission when they refused to describe the totality of the threat against Rittenhouse.
The Rittenholuse prosecutors attempted to win the court case by parsing the three threats against Rittenhouse as separate encounters. Add these encounters together and you come to the realization that Rittenhouse defended himself against an angry mob, bent on killing him. Politifact placed themselves on the side of the prosecution, the people whom 12 jurors unanimously decided was wrong
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