A number of Wyoming elected officials, former lawmakers, and politicos offered up praise for the “not guilty” verdict handed down Friday in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse.
A jury found Rittenhouse not guilty on Friday of charges stemming from the shooting of three men — two fatally — in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year. He faced charges of reckless homicide and endangering safety.
Rittenhouse argued that he fired in self-defense after the men attacked him.
Legislators reacted swiftly to the news of Rittenhouse’s acquittal.
“Kyle Rittenhouse acquitted! The truth wins out. Great moment for our country!” Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper, wrote on social media.
“It’s a good day for liberty and the protection of our rights,” said Rep. Dan Laursen, R-Powell.
Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, retweeted a post from former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard that said the jury was right in clearing Rittenhouse.
“Man – I like @TulsiGabbard more and more every day!” Brown wrote.
Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, also was positive about the acquittal.
“Social Media, Big Tech and The Fake News Already Prosecuted Kyle Rittenhouse. Good thing they weren’t the Jury,” he wrote on social media.
Carbon County Republican Chairman Joey Correnti IV also felt the Rittenhouse verdict was good news.
“Kyle, Liberty defended, WELL DONE!!!” he wrote on social media Friday. “Alec [Baldwin], your sorry ass is next, Feelin lucky???”
The Wyoming Gun Owners organization posted three memes and videos to its page on Friday, telling readers to show their children a video of Rittenhouse and explain to them that the Second Amendment would not be infringed upon.
While former Rep. Scott Clem did not respond to the news of the acquittal immediately on Friday, he did make a social media post about the Rittenhouse trial on Thursday, praising the judge for throwing an MSNBC reporter out of his chambers.
“MSNBC gets kicked out of the court for the duration of the Rittenhouse case. Way to go Judge! A MSNBC reporter was instructed by his superiors at NBC to follow the the transport bus which escorts the jurors everyday,” Clem wrote on Thursday. “This isn’t freedom of the press. It’s reckless and repugnant behavior that threatens due process and our justice system. Their actions show they don’t care about the safety of citizen jurors.”
“They don’t care about unbiased judgment,” Clem continued. “They don’t respect civilized society. They’re no better than rioters, looters, and arsonists. These people are scum, sons of Belial, and lawless. They’re a plague on society. For the good of society they should be dealt with swiftly and harshly. I imagine MSNBC aren’t the only ones. They just happened to get caught.”
