During an interview with WBUR’s “Here and Now” released on Monday, author and professor Ibram X. Kendi argued that the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse will “cause more people to want to bring weapons to peaceful protests and claim self-defense if they end up killing someone.” And that he’s worried that a person could bring an AR-15 to a protest, “people could seek to disarm that person in fear that they would harm somebody and then that person who brought the AR-15 can shoot to kill and then claim self-defense and be exonerated.”
Kendi said, [relevant remarks begin around 12:50] “I think that is one of the greatest worries that I have and I know many people have expressed over the last few days, and really over the last few months and years, and that is that somebody who has worked with or praised white supremacist organizations can bring an AR-15 to an anti-racist demonstration, people could seek to disarm that person in fear that they would harm somebody and then that person who brought the AR-15 can shoot to kill and then claim self-defense and be exonerated. And I think that’s what people fear. Because that’s going to cause more people to want to bring weapons to peaceful protests and claim self-defense if they end up killing someone.”
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