Rage Against The Machine have shared a statement regarding the globally-publicised case of Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted of first-degree murder last week, along with four other felonies.
Rittenhouse shot and killed two men – Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber – at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020. He also injured a third person, Gaige Grosskreutz. The event was held in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Last Friday (November 19), he was found not guilty to all five charges of his case, with his attorneys arguing that he acted in "self-defence".
Known for their social and political commentary, both within their music and as individuals, Rage Against The Machine have issued a statement on the verdict.
On Instagram, the band wrote: "What defines innocence in America? Tamir Rice was executed by police for playing with a toy. Nobody was charged. Ahmaud Arbery went jogging and was murdered in broad daylight.
"Kyle Rittenhouse armed himself and killed people who were fighting for racial justice. He claimed self-defence. This is the settler logic of America’s founding myth: whiteness must cast itself as the victim in order to justify its violence against those resisting its oppression. Welcome to the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave".
RATM guitarist Tom Morello posted a separate statement, writing "When the courts do what they were designed to do and protect and enforce white supremacy: don’t mourn, organise.”
Read the statements below:
When the courts do what they were designed to do and protect and enforce white supremacy: don’t mourn, organize. https://t.co/G75QF9iEqgNovember 19, 2021
