As Rittenhouse Prosecutors Struggle, the Press Wrestles with Its Prejudgments

The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse — who fatally shot two people and injured another during the riots in Kenosha, Wisc. last August — is unfolding poorly for the prosecution, which has charged Rittenhouse with homicide and unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon.

On Wednesday morning, Judge Bruce Schroeder repeatedly admonished Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger for his lines of questioning with Rittenhouse on the stand. At one point, Schroeder asked Rittenhouse and the jury to leave the room before exploding at Binger.

“I was astonished when you began your examination by commenting on the defendant’s post-arrest silence. That’s basic law, it’s been basic law in this country for 40 years, 50 years!” he yelled before adding, “I don’t know what you’re up to.” The misstep from from the prosecution even compelled the defense to request the declaration of a mistrial from Judge Schroeder.

Later, Schroeder growled “Don’t get brazen with me!” after Bing challenged him on another issue.

The haplessness of the prosecution has caught many in the press — who have taken Rittenhouse’s guilt as an article of faith for over a year — off guard. Tiffany Cross, a host of MSNBC’s Cross Connection tweeted “Honestly. @ElieNYC how can this judge be removed?” at Elie Mystal, a legal writer for The Nation. When Mystal replied that he could not, Cross said she was “Depressed. Disgusted. But. Not surprised.” She also posted the following, linking to a story that includes a picture of Rittenhouse forming the “OK” symbol with his fingers:

Cross’s implication that Rittenhouse is a white supremacist hearkens back to last year, when many in the media — as well as a number of progressive politicians — leapt to that same conclusion in the immediate aftermath of the incident:

-President Joe Biden posted a video including images of Rittenhouse with the caption, “There’s no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night.”

-MSNBC analyst John Heilemann called Rittenhouse “arguably a domestic terrorist”

–The Young Turks host Cenk Uyghur characterized Rittenhouse as “deeply racist”

-Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stated that Rittenhouse’s posting of bail was indicative of “protection of white supremacy baked deep into our carceral systems.”

-Steve Schmidt of the Lincoln Project said Rittenhouse was “radicalized by Trumpism.”

-MSNBC’s Jason Johnson worried aloud about “really disturbing things about this country racially” before asserting that Rittenhouse “is the enemy.”

–Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough accused Rittenhouse of “gunning down protesters.”

-Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley referred to Rittenhouse as “a 17 year old white supremacist domestic terrorist.”

-Mark Joseph Stern, a legal commentator for Slate, contended that “the emerging narrative that Kyle Rittenhouse acted in self-defense rests on the racist assumption that a white vigilante’s motives must be purer than a racially diverse group of demonstrators.”

-An ABC News article called Rittenhouse an “alleged white supremacist.”

-Wajahat Ali of The Daily Beast looped Rittenhouse into a list with “armed militias, White power groups, Proud Boys, Boogaloo extremists,” and labeled him a “murderer.”

Today, Cross has been joined by left-wing radio host Dean Obeidallah, who echoed the allegation that Rittenhouse has used “white supremacist hand symbols,” and freelance journalist David Leavitt, who broadened the accusation by speculating that “if you’re defending Kyle Rittenhouse you might be a white supremacist.”

Notably, all three of those shot by Rittenhouse were white. He also traveled to Kenosha on the night of the shooting toting his medical kit, which he acquired while training as an EMT. Shortly before the shooting, he told the Daily Caller that he was there to render first aid to protesters and to prevent the destruction of private property.