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>> host: welcome to washington journal. a jury acquitted kyle rittenhouse on all charges more than year after he fatally shot two people in kenosha, wisconsin. he was among a group of people who said they were there to protect businesses after the city was shaken by toroidal -- turmoil. the shooting death and following trial and verdict have raised questions about vigilantism, self-defense, guns and the law in the united states moving forward. our question this morning, what do you think about kyle rittenhouse being found not guilty on all charges? we will open of regional lines. that means if you are in the eastern or central time zones, your telephone number is (202) 748-8000. if you are in the mountain or

pacific time zones, your telephone number is (202) 748-8001. you can always text us at (202) 748-8003. we are always reading on social media, facebook, on twitter, and you can follow us on instagram. once again, kyle rittenhouse yesterday was found not guilty on all counts following for shooting in kenosha, wisconsin, more than year ago. for those of you who might not have followed what happened with the trial, let's go to the washington post and see what they have written about what happened in kenosha. a jury acquitted kyle rittenhouse on all counts friday, more than a year after the teenager fatally shot two people and wounded a third of it

unrest over police shootings in kenosha, a case that set off a national debate over guns, race, vigilante is him and self-defense -- vigilantism and self-defense. they delivered their verdict in a courtroom just blocks from where rittenhouse, then 17, opened fire on august 20 5, 2020. he traveled to kenosha, joining a massive armed civilians that took to the streets after a white police officer shot jacob blake, a black man. rittenhouse began breaking down as he listened to the words "not guilty", including homicide, and slumped over the defense table as they finished. the teenager embraced one of his attorneys and drank from a water bottle, his hands trembling. he quickly left the courtroom. rittenhouse appeared in the streets with an ar 15 rifle in

august of 2020, sankey was there to help protect businesses amid the unrest. but during brief confrontations, rittenhouse shot and killed joseph rosenbaum and anthony huber. he shot and killed --rittenhouse faced a potential life sentence if convicted. we want to bring to you a little video that comes from the courthouse in kenosha where the trial happened. the kenosha county circuit courtroom. we want to bring you video as the verdict was read. [video] >> the defendants will rise and face the jury. >> the state of wisconsin versus kyle rittenhouse. first count, we the jury find the defendant not guilty. as to the second count of the

information, we find the defendant kyle rittenhouse not guilty. as to the third count of the information, the unknown male, we find the defendant kyle rittenhouse not guilty. as to the fourth count of the information, we find the defendant kyle rittenhouse not guilty. as to the fifth count of the information, we find the defendant kyle rittenhouse not guilty. >> members of the jury, this is your unanimous verdict? is there anyone who does not agree with the verdict thus read? folks, your job is done. host: we want to know what you think this morning about the trial that went on in kenosha and what you think about the verdict of not guilty for kyle

rittenhouse on all charges. let's start with evan from milwaukee, wisconsin. caller: i feel it was all they set up, because i did not like the demeanor of the judge. from the beginning he showed bias, before the trial even got started. not to mention from what i understand fox and friends paid for his defense. now he is going to be on the speaker circuit for the republicans and also on fox, and at trump rallies promoting self-defense. i guess he will be the new face of self-defense movements for the republican party. as far as i'm concerned it was a sham. it was a set up. it was expected. that is just how i feel. thank you. host: ray from ithaca, new york. good morning.

caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. i think that jerry made the right decision -- jury made the right decision. the prosecution was terrible and the judge was correcting him as he was breaking basic law practices. i think the jury 100% made the correct decision. they looked at all the evidence and it was clear-cut to me. host: let's talk to robert from fayetteville, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. i can't believe you came to the correct decision on this. i've bounced around and listened to different media sources. everyone you went to was like watching a different court proceeding somewhere, making up their own so-called facts, evidence and such. the only what i saw they got it

right was fox. i don't think the judge will go on a speaking tour when he was appointed by democrat. i think he did a good job keeping the prosecution from using false evidence and making sure they gave the defense the right stuff to defend the defendant. i'm amazed this turned out as good as it did. host: let's go to eric calling from columbus, georgia. good morning. caller: how are you today? thank you for taking my call. i watched the trial. i think they did everything right. i do. i think the people who are upset behind this are not upset because -- they are calling it a miscarriage of justice. they are upset because their political agenda was not met. this guy, in my opinion, is a

light in the dark in terms of hope. i don't think these democrats want us republican supporters to actually have that. host: that will be a question we will talk about i suspect a lot this morning. what do you think the political agendas were in this case that people were layering on top of this case? caller: that's an excellent question. thank you for asking that. i think the agenda was to make it look like anyone who stood up against what these people call peaceful protests -- peaceful pushback, anyone who pushes back against that is an anarchist, a rebel, and anyone that says trump won is definitely that. all you have to do is say don't

support what the democrats support and they will automatically put that on you. thank you. host: diane calling from waterbury, connecticut. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead, diane. caller: i was thinking the two men that kyle rittenhouse killed were black. in the news they said he had killed two white men. i just realized yesterday the two men he killed her white. i think most black people should be glad he was found innocent, because if he had killed two black men, i can understand why blacks would be upset if he was found innocent. however, he killed two white men. i don't understand why black lives matter is so upset because he got off as being innocent.

host: should it matter whether the people who died were white or black? does it matter? caller: the whole situation is a racist thing. host: now that you know the people who were shot -- the shooter was white and the two people killed were white, does that make a difference? caller: to me it makes the difference. host: why? caller: i'm thinking the two men he killed were black. i was very upset over it. when i found out they were white, i was shocked because i was thinking -- i think the majority of the black people think he killed two black men. host: i don't know if i can agree with you on that. it has been very well-publicized. we have seen the pictures of the people who died several times.

i don't know if i agree that most people thought the people who died were white -- were black. i don't think i agree with that. caller: they don't empathize the fact that the men who died were white. they do not empathize that. -- emphasize that. host: why would it matter? they were americans. they were humans. caller: because this is what blacks are angry about. we are angry about black people not getting justice and being shot by the police and shot and killed by white people. that is what the whole situation is about. host: walter calling from michigan. good morning. caller: good morning. well, i feel the facts remain that two people died. that is the most important part. i think that every american

should think about what direction we are going in here. is this what it has come to? we politicize everything. america is so divided now. i just don't think we are heading in a good direction here. host: walter, i asked a caller earlier. what political considerations were layered on top of this rittenhouse case? caller: certain news stations are making an issue out of it. the real issue to me is that two people died. one was that he will never walk again -- one was -- he will never walk again. kyle rittenhouse will have to

live with this for the rest of his life. if i killed a human being in any way, i am not sure i would be able to function as an adult anymore. i think i would feel such remorse that it would weigh heavy on me. that is how i feel about the whole situation. i don't think this is a healthy thing, the direction we are going in. when people just pick up and carry guns to a certain situation, i think we should have more training on how to use a gun, because this 17-year-old who had this gun, i don't think he was in the right frame of mind. i don't think, you know, he

actually knew the repercussions of going. host: margo calling from country club hills, illinois. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. once again i am outraged. this is such a squash on the first amendment, because -- the second minute -- people with the second minute are so involved in that -- second amendment are so involved in that -- i'm sorry. if you pick up a book and put down the gun, maybe then we can have some sort of reform. the reason they want to keep folks out -- books out is because information is freedom.

it makes you get along. it makes you want to strive for more information and learning about other people. we are all the same. we are all god's creatures. there is nothing in the bible about being armed, picking up guns, you know. it is sad and unfortunate. i pray that things will get better. host: kevin calling from michigan. good morning. caller: i think everybody is missing the point here. the point should be, why were the cops told to stand down? this whole summer, you know, black lives matter and people were burning cities down. ok? constantly. you see the cops just standing by and letting them do it.

to me, i planed the mayor of the city -- blame the mayor of the city and governor for telling their police to stand down. had they went in and stopped the stuff in it first started, i don't think he would have been there to shoot anybody. when you are watching people's business is being destroyed and no cops trying to help them, what do you do? i kind of see his point when he went down there to try to save people's property or help people. i can't say i was happy about him shooting people but if people are going to attack you, you have the right to self-defense. host: that was one of the questions that came up during the trial. do you have a right to self-defense when you put yourself into a volatile situation? for example, if somewhat on the national mall goes out and decides to go attend a march at the national mall and opposes

what the people are marching for, do they have a right to defend themselves in the middle of a crowd that they know from the beginning that opposed what they think? caller: the way i see it was the cops were not doing their jobs. the governors were not doing their jobs. they should be held for charges because they did not do nothing. they did not send the cops to stop when it first started. i think that is the number one thing. we can't have protests going crazy and not having anybody stopping it. that is number one. period. host: don't we have a right to gather and protest? caller: you do, but you don't have the right to burn buildings, shoot stuff at cops, take over city streets. that you don't have the right to do. host: let's go to james calling

from north royalton, ohio. good morning. caller: hello? how are you doing? thank you for c-span. let me be clear. people who watched the trial did not get this part. there are three people shot. three people with criminal records. one was a pedophile. h-1b his grandma -- one beat his grandma. one had multiple duis. host: where are you getting that information from? caller: it's all a fact. you can look it up. host: you got it off the internet is what you are saying? caller: a lot of things come from the internet. yeah. i watched the whole trial on the internet. yeah. anybody can verify for themselves.

it is a matter of public record. i don't think -- what are the odds he shoots three people in all three of them are felons and have a lengthy criminal record? only at a black lives rally will something like that happen. thank you. host: steve from arizona. good morning. caller: how is it going? host: i'm fine. go ahead. caller: i have a few points to make. it is a clear-cut case of self-defense. nobody is saying this. put yourself in that young man's shoes. maybe he was in a tight position. when you have threats of death against you, you will do whatever it takes to preserve your life. i don't care who you are. when it comes down to that, you will preserve your own life. that is what he did. i think they got it right on this one.

yeah, there is a lot of controversy that is continuing to swirl around. nick sandmann had to sue the media. they had it wrong. just like in this case, this young man should get together with his folks and sue the media for all the trouble they caused. the one lady called in. i watch c-span everyday. she thought he had killed a couple of black people. black people were enraged over this whole deal. how did that get out that he killed a couple of black people when he did not kill any black people? the thing is, it is getting to be about race in this country. we are an open carry state. when i go out in public i greet all kinds of people with a hello and a smile, not a handshake because of covid, but people of all ethnicities greet me and our friendly. i always ask them before i leave -- i think the media has it wrong. do you?

i don't feel like we are at each other's throats. every person says yes, you are right. where are they getting this from? somebody has to do something to reign in the media. not the c-spans, but the cnns, and fox newses. as much opposition as you have in the political realm, you have that much opposition in the media realm. host: speaking of politics, president biden was asked yesterday about the rittenhouse verdict as he was going to his annual physical at walter reed, and about friday posey vote in the house on his bill back better bill. here is president biden. [video] caller: i did not watch -- pres. biden: i did not watch the trial. >> you stand by past comments about white supremacy? pres. biden: i stand by what the

jury concluded. the jury system works. you have to abide by that. >> what is the state of your health after this? pres. biden: good. they will release all the details. i feel great. nothing has changed. we are in good shape. i am looking forward to celebrating my birthday. >> now that it has passed the house, when the you expected to land on your desk? pres. biden: i don't know. it will take a while to get through the senate. i think after thanksgiving. i will sign it, period. host: let's be clear about something president biden just said. it is not his 50th birthday. today his 79th birthday.

today is president biden's 79th birthday. people from across the political spectrum, including politicians, have been commenting on the kyle rittenhouse verdict. i want to review tweets from lawmakers put out yesterday and today on the rittenhouse verdict. this is from andy levin. "greatly disappointed but not surprised. lack of common sense gun laws and systemic racism allowed him to kill two innocent people. now he gets to walk free." jason crow. "the justice system cannot fail if it was never meant to deliver justice for some people in the first place. the verdict is a tragedy. we have the better. my thoughts are with the families and the communities that are hurting." from jerry nadler.

"this is a miscarriage of justice and sets a dangerous precedent which justifies federal review by doj. justice cannot tolerate armed persons crossing state lines looking for trouble while people engaged in first amendment protected protests." from -- "the verdict did not deliver justice. it should serve as a stark reminder of the work that lies ahead in the reform of the broken system and bring justice to communities that have been unjustly criminalized for so long." here is one from warren davidson. "thank you to the jury for showing their can be integrity in our struggling justice system. some observations. at least one protest -- fake news harms us all." let's go back to the phone lines and talk to bennett from

maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you so much. i stand with joe biden on this one. i trust our criminal justice system. i wanted to say to the previous caller about the right to assemble under our constitution. i think when we have biases, they can prevent us from parsing out bad parts of our argument -- some of the good parts. it leads us to accept essentially the full plate of the offering. it is hard for republicans, for example, to criticize the storming of the capitol. i don't want to call it an assault. they reached the doors and

walked in. i would argue liberals are having a hard time invalidating the violent forms of protests that occurred after the george floyd killing. i think people need to be more reasonable and see this kid should not have been out there. he was 17 years old. we don't need jedi nights or vigilantes -- jedi knights or vigilantes. we need police forces to enforce the laws and prevent lawlessness. everyone has a right to peacefully protest. by all means do so. but if one can't see there was plenty of violent, mob-like behavior that was unjustified and unlawful, i think that is

the root of our issue. our biases and inability to be more reasonable. host: let's talk to doug from forks, washington. caller: good morning. just one point. it doesn't matter if they were black or white. it was self-defense. it does not matter who attacks you, what color they are. if it is self-defense, it is self-defense. that kid handled that gun very well as far as i'm concerned. he must have already had training because he did great. i don't mean that in the wrong kind of way. also, although leaders like nadler, all of them, it is like they wanted to incite the riots

in the cities and have everything torn apart. the only reason it did not happen last night is because everybody with common sense. those people that did march know it was self-defense. luckily it was all on tape and they saw it. everything went well. thank god nobody rioted. it was a full-blown riot. it was not peaceful protesters. host: mark from carlisle, pennsylvania. caller: good morning, jesse. great topic. great comments. i agree with james and kevin for sure, and the last guy that called. let's get the facts out. jacob blake had a warrant, knife. he is trying to steal his car. his girlfriend posey car. --'earl friends -- his

girlfriend's car. this was not a peaceful protest. these politicians like the last guy just said that her treating this -- that are creating this problem and not knowing the facts, they need to be investigated and held accountable. it was not peaceful protests. it was riots and people got killed. innocent people got killed. let's stick to the facts. host:-- host: let's go to rudolph. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: first of all, where did the kid get the gun from? host: that's a good question. caller: i've been hearing he got it from his mother. he was 17 years old. his mother should have been

arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. all of this stuff about this country is divided, come on, man. everybody knows what time it is. we've been divided for over 400 years. i don't know why people say that. it has nothing to do with division. everybody knows we are divided. it was by design. as far as the trial is concerned, what if everybody did what kyle rittenhouse did and ran to a protest? you are talking about 15 people dead. they need to stop this. they really need to stop it. i'm so sick and tired of all of this madness. it is disgusting. host: let's talk to maxine, who is calling from new baltimore, michigan. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. i'm very thrilled with this

verdict. for once, a jury got it right. this young man was defending his life. he had been attacked by a skateboard -- with a skateboard. this was nuts. -- this was not a miscarriage of justice. this was justice personified. the jury system did its job. you can talk all you want about him being where he was. he was there protecting his neighborhood. and these thugs thought they were going to do to him what they were doing to the buildings and they got a surprise. host: just be clear, it was not his neighborhood. he is not from kenosha. caller: he was protecting -- he was there, protecting property. these three men were there to destroy property. and to take his life. attacked him with a skateboard.

they attacked him, grabbed the gun. they had to be idiots. to grab a gun and try to take his gun away. host: let's talk to travis, who is calling from bismarck, north dakota. travis, good morning. caller: yes, sir. host: go ahead, travis. caller: hello. let's get down to the true brass and facts. there are two men that are dead and one that is injured. plain and simple. the man should be in jail. he drove miles. yes, he did what he thought was right. not justifying any of it. but, let's put it down to brass and facts. he took two people's lives and injured one. host: travis, do you think that this verdict is going to make

more people armed themselves and attempt vigilante is him -- vigilantism by going out and doing what they think the cops should be doing? caller: i should hope not. honestly, i should hope not. anybody that has any training, go ahead, utilize it. don't do it that way. all lives matter. that's all i'm calling about. host: let's go to carolyn, who is calling from mount vernon, new york. carolyn, good morning. caller: good morning, jessie and c-span viewers. first of all, this little killer , and that's when he was, killed two white people and injured a third white person. now, the media was very clever that they never, in the beginning, told you who they

killed -- who he killed. they never said they were white or black. we did not find out they were white until later. the media was complicit in that. they said he killed people. where were his relatives? where were the people he shot? they never showed their relatives on tv. all they showed was the killer side of the family. now, -- killer's side of the family. this was a miscarriage of justice and the killer got off. if he was black, believe he would have been in jail from the beginning. but, they let him go. the police let him go. they thought he -- they saw he had a rifle and was underage. they let him go. if he was black, they would have

shot him down in the street like a dog. but, the media was complicit in it. the judge was a catastrophe. and this whole miscarriage of justice is a sham. 5 -- host: yesterday, after the verdict, mark richards, who is the defense attorney for kyle rittenhouse, came out and spoke with the media after the trial verdict was read here is what mr. richards had to say. >> it's been a long day and a long three weeks. we are happy that the jury took the time to put in an incredible amount of effort. there were times we doubted the case. there were times we were confident. to say that we were relieved would be a gross understatement. kyle is not here. he is on his way home. he wants to get on with his life. he has a huge sense of relief

for the jury did to him today. he wishes none of this would have ever happened. but, as he said when he testified, he did not start this . we are thankful in more ways than one, that the jury got to hear the true story. when i say the media, i am talking about social media and things like that. the story that came out from the beginning was not the true story. that was something we had to work to overcome in court. and we think we did that. host: let's look at some more tweets from lawmakers that came out yesterday and today, on the verdict in the kyle rittenhouse trial. there is one from paul gosar, that says justice was served for kyle rittenhouse and he is fully

exonerated. as i said last year, obviously self-defense. i will arm wrestle matt gaetz to get dibs for kyle as an intern. this is from senator ted cruz. this acquittal is not just about kyle rittenhouse. this verdict rita rates that every american has the god-given right to self-defense and the protections of the second amendment. the corporate media should be appalled by their coverage of this case from start to finish. and from senator ron johnson, i believe justice has been served in the kyle rittenhouse trial. i hope everyone can accept the verdict, remain peaceful and let the community of kenosha heal and rebuild. and from senator tom cotton, joe biden needs to publicly apologize to kyle rittenhouse. we want to know what you think about the jury verdict that kyle rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges. that's go to shirley, who is calling from new castle,

pennsylvania. surely, good morning. -- shirley, good morning. caller: thank you. first of all, i'm 83 years old and i think it is terrible what is going on in this country today. are you there? host: yes, go ahead. caller: ok. and i would like to say something to every governor of every state, every commonwealth, and every mayor of every city. start doing something about this. the constituents that voted you in expect you to do your job. what i mean by that is work for the people who voted you in. what are you doing? when you see all this writing going on, all of these buildings being burned down and stuff stolen and people's lives being taken, what are you doing about it? i don't think much of anything.

so, why are you sitting there in that building, watching all of this go on and nothing is being done? host: let's go to larry who is calling from indianapolis, indiana. larry, good morning. caller: good morning. i hope you don't cut me off. here is the viewpoint. a message was sent to decent white people that if you support any black cause, any cause like that, you are being a traitor. that is why it is justified that they let this kid off. it goes back to the days of slavery. if a white person helps a blacks gave -- slave escape, -- a black slave escape, he is a threat and was wrong. if you support a black cause or a cause of people of color, you can be killed legally. host: let's go to richard, who is calling from louisville,

kentucky. good morning. caller: the rule of law was shown to the country yesterday in the last couple of weeks. you have the prosecution, that tried to slide in different things that the judge told them before the trial started, we are not going to do this, we are not going to do that. then they hid evidence on him and the judge still let it go to the jury. the prosecution was absolutely terrible. collar rittenhouse, it is a shame that a 17-year-old son, and by the way, sir, his father lives in kenosha. his father lives in kenosha. you said he had no business being there, he had all the right to be there. is it a shame that these people were killed, absolutely, it was a shame. but, i will not stand back and let people tell me i have to stay home and locked down

because black or antifa or any group for that matter, tells me that they want to come and burn down my place of business, i will protect myself. i will protect my business. and i will ask people to come and help me. if you forget -- did you forget, sir, it was the democrats who said the police were told to stand down. in 2020, in the summer of 2020, you had the big movement by black lives matter and the congressional black caucus called to defund the police. people are going to protect themselves. host: let's go to mary from south burlington, vermont. caller: good morning. my heart is absolutely broken this morning.

we are all going to be out on the streets, shooting each other. 17 years old. you have a big gun under your arm and you are walking down the street. i will keep it simple. we are losing our way. we are losing our hearts, we are losing our minds. people are dead. because we can't get along and because of this and because of that. it breaks my heart. i'm so sad to see this happen in our country. 17 years old with a gun. what might he do down the road now that he is out on his own? he might have another problem and destroy something else, someone else down the road. god bless america and let us get back to the basics. host: let's go to ann, who is

calling for montana. good morning. caller: good morning. first, i want to say i watched the whole trial. this kid, the jury found him innocent. rightfully so. but, if you, jesse, would play tapes of joe biden, msnbc, cnn before this trial, they gave all of the misinformation to the public. if you would just play some of their statements, referring to this kid, it is unbelievable. this is where it all starts. when our leader of this country is calling this kid a white

supremacist, he supposed to care for the whole country. it starts on his back. i will tell you what, i hope this kyle sue's cnn, fox news, i've watched all the news broadcasts. fox news, play all three of them before the trial, jesse. fox news was the only one that had the facts. host: the caller mentioned president biden's statement and i want to read to you the president biden statement that came out yesterday. we played for you what he said to the media. he put out an additional statement i want to bring to you here. while the verdict in kenosha will leave many americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken. iran on a promise to bring

americans together because i believe that -- i ran on a promise to bring americans to -- together because i believe that what unites us is stronger than what divides us. i know that were not going to heal our country's wounds overnight, but i remain steadfast in my commitment to do everything in my power to ensure that every american is treated equally. violence and destruction of property has no place in our democracy. that is a statement from president biden that came out yesterday. let's talk to robert, who is calling from brooklyn, new york. robert, good morning. caller: hi, good morning. i just wanted to say that everyone is missing the point. everyone is saying it is self-defense. it is focused on the act of shooting someone when this is

about reckless endangerment. everyone who is saying it is self-defense is saying the protests were not peaceful. if you go to a riot with a gun, that is a textbook case of reckless endangerment. i think this is where things break down. this is where people will think it is ok to put themselves in this position and they will be standoffs. that is where i stand. i don't see it as a triumph of the rule of law, i see it as a triumph of s cleaning things. host: let's go to connie, calling from chicago, illinois. caller: thank you for taking my call. i wanted to say that, first off, all of the people that are calling in that support kyle rittenhouse's behavior, his

actions, are saying that in addition to the jury, he's not guilty. in their eyesight and in their opinions, that is what they are entitled to think and believe. however, in spite of his getting the not guilty verdict, the fact remains that he killed somebody. two people. that leads to the fact that he is still a murderer. he is not free from being labeled a murderer. another point i wanted to focus on was his mother. it was alleged that she drove him across state lines. where are the charges on her? where are the charges on her? ok? this whole matter expected

george zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watchman. i'm going to make sure the neighborhood is safe. safe from who? host: let's go to lou, who is calling from highland park, illinois. lou, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: good. caller: one, if all the injured people in this case were black, this would never have hit the news like it did. this stuff happens in chicago all the time. no one gives a damn. secondly, i think all sides in this case are wrong. it is one of those situations where a boy who went into the town holding a gun, which is very provoking, imagine someone walking into your house, holding

an ak-47, you would be provoked into defending yourself and hurting that person, whether he pulled the trigger or not. i think there is all kinds of visions that are not being discussed. i think the third case is think of jacob blake. he is paralyzed for life. and in that situation, i think everyone was wrong. the cops could have handled him much better, without shooting him. the cops had all the time. and you don't have to shoot somebody. host: let's go to brenda, who is calling from manchester, washington. good morning. caller: i agree with the man that was from new york who talked about the reckless endangerment. that's what i could not comprehend. he comes in with a gun.

isn't that starting trouble right there? as far as the fella hitting him with the skateboard, i guess a lot of my thunder has been stolen. but basically, welcome to the wild west. this verdict basically says just bring a gun and if you feel threatened, you can shoot because you were threatened. it doesn't matter that you were threatened with something that can't kill you. how hard would he have to beat him with the skateboard? i did not want to go off on that. my main point is people are dead . someone came in with a gun. he said he felt threatened even though he had the gun. the lady that brought up george zimmerman, i thought of that, exactly. here is a man. the police told him stay back and stand down and he went out with his gun, because he felt

threatened by someone without a gun, shot him and was justified. things have got to change with gun safety. and who can carry them. i looked across and have a beautiful view of seattle. we go to seattle regularly. that is a kind little spot. and i'm tired of hearing cities are on fire. that was last summer. it was a horrific event. it was a small section of seattle. it was blocked. it is beautiful. it has been beautiful for a long time. people are protesting for righteous reasons. it is a shame that the looting happened. but we cannot lose sight of the fact there needs to be social justice reform. host: let's go to edward, who is calling from texas. edward, good morning. caller: people, the protests are

great. when it becomes a riot, that is when the law needs to take over. it seems like we can't protest properly. for me, the young man -- they say he should not have been there. he was there protesting. when his life was in danger, look what happened. two lives were killed and one was hurt. lives were taken. i think the young man defended himself and i believe he did right. host: let's go to matthew, who is calling from emerson, new jersey. matt, good morning. -- matthew, good morning. caller: thank you and happy early thanksgiving to everyone. let's look at facts, please.

this has nothing to do with race . absolutely nothing. because, the so-called news media, never reported that the two individuals who rittenhouse killed in self-defense were white. one of these individuals who rittenhouse killed in self-defense was a child rapist and predator. ok? a criminal. by the way, this is a victory for justice and self-defense. it is a defeat for the fake news media like msnbc, who followed the juror fan to intimidate them. the judge banned them from the courtroom. so please, don't bring race into

this. the facts showed that does not apply. the man was threatened. his life was threatened. and this business about crossing state lines is alive. it is false. because, in wisconsin, it was not illegal. it is legal, the type of gun he had, for a person of his age to carry. crossing state lines is a red herring. it is fake news for people who hate what happened. most of them, democrats, by the way. host: let's go to jeff, who is calling from parkersburg, west virginia. good morning. caller: thank you, jesse. i would like to say every time something goes wrong in this country, fox news always says antifa or black lives matter. i just want to flip the script and say if i was a black man

going down with a long gun at a white supremacist protest, they would have shot me down like a dog. i would not have to go to court. all of this stuff about black lives matter and antifa is a bunch of crap. i can tell they watch fox news news. they don't have to say. host: let's go to john who is calling from vicksburg, michigan. good morning. caller: good morning, jesse. how are you doing? the way i look at this -- first and foremost, the jury came to a verdict. the verdict was not guilty. now, the way i look at a not guilty verdict, i don't automatically consider it a pronouncement of innocence. i think, in my own opinion, kyle

was motivated to go to that protest with a gun. i think that he was seeking trouble. but, that being said, the laws in wisconsin are what they are. the finding of not guilty was justified. but my fear is is that in future protests, both sides are going to start coming to these gatherings armed. and it will take very little to set these people off into a full-fledged non-battle in the streets. thank you so much, i appreciate it. host: let's go to andy, who is calling from lewiston, california. andy, good morning. caller: hey, jesse. i've heard a lot of calls this morning. they want to talk about the facts. and they want to talk about self-defense. so, for example, the first kid

that was shot, self-defense, you have as much force as you need to stop the threat. when he shot that guy the first time and shattered his hip and the guy fell to the ground, how can you justify self-defense when he shot the man in the back and killed him on his third or fourth shot? explain that to me, how that is self-defense. could you help me out, jesse? host: we would like to thank all of the colors for the first segment. coming up next, we will be joined by kaiser family foundations tricia neuman to talk about the future of medicare and the recently announced jump in premium. leader on, our weekly spotlight on podcasts segment features

hannah mccarthy and nick cap beachy -- nick capodice. we will talk about the creation of their show and the role of civics education in america. stick with us. we will be right back. ♪ >> book tv, every sunday on c-span two features leading authors discussing their latest nonfiction books at noon eastern. live coverage of the miami book fair, featuring authors including craig whitlock, with his book the afghanistan papers, a sister -- secret history of the war. discussing the three places he has lived. chris hedges talks about the american prison system, which details his time teaching

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