As we’ve seen throughout last year’s unrest and up to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, public demonstrations — where passions and personal convictions were already running hot — became an even more volatile and too often deadly mix when firearms and other weapons were brandished.
Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old Illinois resident, crossed state lines, armed with an AR-15-style rifle, and is alleged to have killed two protesters on Aug. 25 in Kenosha, Wis., following the police shooting of a black man two days earlier. Rittenhouse, who has claimed self-defense, has said he went to the Kenosha demonstrations to protect private property. He is out on bail, awaiting trial.