Militia Member Who Marched with Nazi Sympathizer Shoots Three Black Lives Matter Protestors, Killing Two.

On August 25, 2020, a 17-year-old militia member killed two Black Lives Matter protestors in Kenosha, WI. The militia included at least one man who shared Nazi propaganda videos and amplified Richard Spencer on social media. The victims were at a protest to demand justice for Jacob Blake, a Black man shot multiple times by Kenosha police two days prior. Blake is now paralyzed from the waist down.

Blake’s shooting sparked an uprising in Kenosha. In response to this uprising, militias and extremists issued a call to mobilize in Kenosha — some of them under the banner of “Kenosha Guard,” which encouraged “patriots” to “take up arms and defend our city tonight from the evil thugs.” Among the people who answered the call were: 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who that night shot three people, killing two; and Ryan Balch. As the Southern Poverty Law Center reported days after the shooting, Balch has a years-long history of posting antisemitic and white supremacist content on social media

Commenters on the now-removed Kenosha Guard Facebook page advocated a “purge” and told people to not just bring their guns, but to use them. The profile picture of of the commenters — a man who advocated for violence against protestors and requested that shooters “send a live feed of the mother fuckers going down” — is a photo of him with former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R).

While Scott Walker called on Democrats to condemn violence, not acknowledging that the shooter was a right-wing extremist, far-right figures like Michelle Malkin immediately sought to defend the shooter, claiming he was “forced to fire” his weapon. This position was boosted by Darren Beattie, a white nationalist who works for Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and recently appeared on Malkin’s show, Sovereign Nation. Video of the shooter from earlier in the evening shows him stating that he was armed with lethal ammunition.

Rittenhouse was arrested and charged with first degree homicide the day after the shooting. Right-wing pundits heralded his actions, with voices online calling him a “hero.” Extremists further valorized Rittenhouse upon learning that the last name of one of the his victims’ last name was Rosenbaum — a name often associated with Jewish identity.

In the following days, Republican politicians like Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) added their voices to the chorus of support for Rittenhouse, claiming he had acted in self-defense.