US President Joe Biden has issued a statement warning against violence in the wake of the acquittal on all charges of teenager Kyle Rittenhouse who shot dead two people at a racially charged riot in Wisconsin in 2020.
Mr Rittenhouse, 18, shot two protesters dead and injured a third at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in August 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
He claimed he acted in self-defense and had shot the men with his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle after being attacked.
President Joe Biden appealed for calm following the verdict on Saturday morning.
"While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken," Mr Biden said in a statement.
"I urge everyone to express their views peacefully, consistent with the rule of law."
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was among the first to react to the verdict, calling it "disgusting."
Kyle Rittenhouse is comforted by his lawyer as he is acquitted of all charges at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Source: AAP
"It sends a horrible message to this country," Mr De Blasio said in a tweet. "To call this a miscarriage of justice is an understatement."
Parents of Anthony Huber, who was shot dead by Kyle Rittenhouse, issued a statement that said: "today’s verdict means there is no accountability for the person who murdered our son."
They said the not guilty verdict: "sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street."
The official account for the Black Lives Matter movement tweeted that Mr Rittenhouse's verdict was an example of "how the systems conspire to entrench #WhiteSupremacy."
US human rights advocate Martin Luther King III also spoke out about the judgment, tweeting, "failure to hold Kyle Rittenhouse accountable sends a clear message that violence, hatred, and racism can and will win in our nation."
"America, we must do better. We must work towards a nation where racism, poverty, and violence are replaced with peace, justice, and equity."
But some Republicans were celebrating the verdict, with conservative politicians offering the teenager work experience at their offices.
“Kyle Rittenhouse is not guilty, my friends! You have a right to defend yourself,” Madison Cawthorn, a North Carolina Republican, wrote on an Instagram story.
“Be armed, be dangerous, and be moral, she wrote, adding: “Kyle, if you want an internship, reach out to me."
Arizona Republican Paul Gosar, who previously made an anime video that depicted him killing New York Republican Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, tweeted: “I will arm wrestle @mattgaetz to get dibs for Kyle as an intern.”
“Justice was served for #KyleRittenhouse and he is fully exonerated,” he added.
“As I said last year, obviously self-defense.”
Following the reading of the verdict, the Twitter account for Republicans on the House Committee on the Judiciary simply tweeted one word: “Justice.”
Outside the Kenosha courthouse, there were scattered cheers and clapping from supporters while opponents marched around beating drums and chanting "Guilty, guilty, the whole system is guilty as hell."
Kyle Rittenhouse is seen carrying a weapon during a night of unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, 25 August, 2020. Source: AAP
Mr Rittenhouse faced five charges - one count of intentional homicide, one count of reckless homicide, one count of attempted intentional homicide and two counts of recklessly endangering safety.
The most serious charge - intentional homicide - carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
The jury deliberated for a total of 26 hours over four days before delivering a unanimous verdict of not guilty on all counts.
The case drew national attention because it arose from the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that swept the country last year and featured a controversial mix of guns, racial tensions and vigilantism.
Civil unrest erupted in Kenosha, a city of 100,000 on the shores of Lake Michigan, in August 2020 after a white policeman shot a black man, Jacob Blake, in the back several times during an arrest, leaving him paralysed.
In right-wing and pro-gun circles, Mr Rittenhouse, who claimed he went to Kenosha to protect businesses from looters and act as a medic, was hailed as a heroic figure.
Prosecutors said Mr Rittenhouse was seen with a member of his family at a bar in Wisconsin on 5 January, the same day he pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the Kenosha shootings.
Bar security camera footage shows him wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the phrase ‘free as f**k’ and flashing the ‘OK’ hand sign that has been appropriated by white supremacist groups. Prosecutors said he was also “loudly serenaded” by a group of adult men who sang the Proud Boys’ anthem.
They also said Mr Rittenhouse - who lived in the neighboring state of Illinois - had come to Kenosha as a self-appointed "junior policeman" and "made a series of reckless decisions."
"Nobody deputised him," prosecutor Thomas Binger said.
Speaking to reporters after the verdict, Mr Rittenhouse's attorney, Mark Richards, said he believes his client is remorseful.
"He is in counseling for PTSD," Mr Richards said. "He doesn't sleep at night.
"I personally don't like people carrying AR-15s around," he added, but "he was legal in having that firearm."
With AFP
