More than 100 people gathered in the blustery cold at Kenosha’s Civic Center Park Sunday, for a protest responding to the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse.
Rittenhouse killed two people and injured another during unrest in Kenosha that followed the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, last summer.
Protesters chanted the names of the two men Rittenhouse killed, Joseph “JoJo” Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber.
They also chanted the name of Chrystul Kizer, a young Black woman and sex trafficking victim from Kenosha, who is accused of killing a man who sexually abused her. Kizer’s case is still pending.
Democratic State Rep. David Bowen of Milwaukee compared it to Rittenhouse’s case. Rittenhouse successfully argued self-defense. Kizer also claims she acted in self-defense.
"Chrystul Kizer was in this building [Kenosha County Courthouse] advocating for her justice too," Bowen said. "And we didn’t hear any of y’all. And we didn’t hear anybody that was out making noises for Kyle Rittenhouse."
Bowen, along with Jacob Blake’s uncle, Justin Blake, and Bishop Tavis Grant of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, said they would fight for justice for Chrystul Kizer.
"Show Chrystul Kizer the same attention," said Grant. "Show her the same sympathy. Make her a hero."
The Rainbow PUSH Coalition and its leader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, are also advocating for a federal investigation into the Rittenhouse case.