Protesters March Downtown In Wake Of Kyle Rittenhouse Acquittal
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Protesters gathered at Federal Plaza and marched downtown Friday night, in the wake of the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The protesters marched to Michigan Avenue and Madison Street, where police stopped them from going farther north.
CBS 2's photographer at the scene estimated there were about 60 to 100 protesters.
Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges earlier Friday, after his trial for shooting three people, killing two of them in Kenosha last year.
He had faced five counts, including charges of first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree intentional homicide, and attempted first-degree attempted homicide. He faced up to life in prison had he been convicted.
There was no question Rittenhouse shot anyone, and the trial boiled down to whether he was legitimately acting in self-defense. He had been charged in connection with the shootings of three people in August 2020 during protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz during the widespread civil unrest in Kenosha after Blake was shot by police.
There was a large police presence in Chicago Thursday night due to concerns about possible civil unrest following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, but there were few calls.
Groups of thieves targeted some stores in Chicago Friday evening, including the Neiman Marcus store on the Magnificent Mile and a Game Stop in Chatham, but there is no indication that these incidents were connected to anger about the verdict or any kind of civil unrest. Police also responded Friday night to several reports of looting in Chicago that turned out to be false.