11/22/21 11/22/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we find the defendant not guilty. as to the second count of the information, we find the jury not guilty. amy: protests have taken place across the country after a jury in kenosha, wisconsin, acquitted 18-year-old kyle rittenhouse on all five counts of fatally shooting two people and wounding

a third. during racial justice protests over the police shooting of jacob blake in kenosha. in a democracy now! exclusive, we will speak to jacob blake's father and his uncle. >> i need the city, my nephew was shot seven times in the back and no charges were ever leveled. from day one, the judge had his hand on the scale. he did not allow pictures. he was doing everything he could -- amy: plus, we will speak to a lawyer representing the family of anthony huber, one of the protesters shot dead by kyle rittenhouse. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in wisconsin, a jury found white gunman kyle rittenhouse not guilty on all counts.

in august of last year, then -- rittenhouse travel to kenosha, wisconsin, during anti-police brutality protests, where he shot and killed two people and wounded a third. friday's verdict sparked demonstrations around the country. in a statement, the parents of anthony huber, one of the protesters killed by rittenhouse, said they were heartbroken and angry and that the verdict "sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street." this is hannah gittings, the partner of anthony huber. >> every day i wish i could come home to him and unload some of this weight that is on my shoulders, but i can't because he is dead. and now the system is telling me that nobody needs to answer for that.

and i have a problem with that. i think i have been very open in expressing my empathy for the other side of this, but that is just not reciprocated back. and , because she was standing next to justin blake, the uncle of jacob blake who was shot by police that sparked the protest against police brutality. we will be speaking with justin blake and jacob blake's father after headlines. two other closely watched trials continue today. in georgia, closing arguments are being delivered in the murder trial of the white men three who chased down and fatally shot ahmaud arbery. and jurors in charlottesville, virginia, are deliberating for a second day in the trial against the organizers of the deadly "unite the right" rally.

a new york man who pleaded guilty to the rape and sexual assault of four teenage girls will avoid prison altogether after receiving an extraordinarily lenient sentence that's drawn international condemnation. christopher belter, who's now 20 years old, received eight months probation and no jail time after he pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree sexual abuse, third-degree rape, and two counts of second-degree sexual abuse. one survivor was in the courtroom, told buffalo news station wkbw she had to immediately run to the bathroom and throw up after belter's sentencing last tuesday. >> i lost it. i mean, i did not expect to be as emotional as i was but i just broke down. like, i was shaking with anger. i was disgusted at the fact this was even an option. amy: the four teens who were

raped or 15 and 16 years old. belter, who is white, is from a wealthy neighborhood near napper falls, new york. in missouri, a white kansas city police detective was found guilty friday of fatally shooting a black man outside his own home in december of 2019. eric devalkenaere was convicted on charges of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action for firing two rounds at 26-year-old cameron lamb, who was killed as he backed his truck into his own garage. at the time, the officers had no arrest warrant and no evidence of a crime. civil rights attorney lee merritt represented lamb's -- represents lamb's family. >> this is historic. in it means something. this is going to mean something when you go back to georgia, it is going to mean something court ahmaud arbery, going to mean something for a tatyana jefferson, it is going to mean something for botham jean, for

so many families that have been imcted, ronald greene in illinois -- these instances of justice in our system are far too rare. amy: we will have more on that story later in the broadcast. in wisconsin, an suv plowed through a christmas parade in the town of waukesha sunday, killing at least five people and injuring at least another 40. videos show the vehicle crashing through barriers and speeding down a road that have been locked off for the parade. police say they have detained a "person of interest, but no cause or motive for the deadly incident has been revealed. major protests against covid restrictions took place across europe this weekend, where the coronavirus is once again surging. in belgium, police deployed tear gas and water cannons as tens of thousands of people marched in

the capital brussels, some of them throwing fireworks. in the netherlands, police used batons, dogs, and horses to push back crowds in the hague amid three nights of rioting there and across other dutch cities. dozens were arrested in rotterdam. in austria, people rallied ahead of a full national lockdown starting today. >> i want my freedom back. one would think we lilive in democracy. now this is a coronavirus dictatorship. amy: protests also took place in croatia, italy, as well as outside of europe, most notably in australia. here in e united states, the fda and the cdc approved covid-19 booster shots for all adults friday. health officials are urging us -- u.s. residents to get the booster or to get their first vaccines that they have not already in order to curb another winter surge and a holiday trav rush is expected to

approach pre-pandemic levels. cases have gone up nearly 30% over t last two weeks. recorded u.s. covid deaths in 2021 have now surpassed 2020 deaths despite the wide availability of vaccines. in sudan, security forces shot dead a 16-year-old during anti-coup protests sunday. the latest demonstration came as prime minister abdalla hamdok was reinstated by the military coup government one month after they ousted him. hamdok signed a power-sharing deal with the military that would last three to four years before new elections are held. this is a protester speaking yesterday from the capital khartoum. >> the prime minister is in a position of weakness. he is staying with the military leader. he could not tell him he is a killer and he must be tried, but we want politicians who can bring us out of this mess, who

don't want any more bloodshed. we want a civilian state without any more escalation. amy: at least 41 people have been killed and hundreds injured in protests since the octor 25 coup. in china, tennis star peng shuai appears to have resurfaced over the weekend amid mounting concerns for her safety. the 35-year-old olympian accused former vice prier zhang gaoli of sexual assault in a social media post on november 2 and had not been seen since. international olympic committee president thomas bach said he held a video call with peng, while chinese state media released a series of photos and videos showing the athlete in various settings, including a children's tennis competition. in a statement, the head of the women's tennis association said, "while it is positive to see her, it remains unclear if she is free and able to make decisions and take actions on her own, without coercion or

external interference." international outcry is growing. china cares deeply about this because the chinese -- the olympics are taking place in china within two months. in chile, two presidential candidates far-right populist , a and a former student protest leader, are facing off in a runoff election next month. with more than 90% of ballots counted, far-right presidential hopeful josé antonio kast appeared to lead in the first round. kast opposes abortion and marriage equality and ran a campaign on anti-immigration rhetoric. he's also an apologist for the former u.s.-backed pinochet dictatorship. meanwhile, gabriel boric is a 35-year-old former student activist who supports progressive social reforms and an overhaul of neoliberal economic policies. venezuelans also took to the polls sunday for regional

elections where president nicolás maduro's political party and its allies won by a landslide. the elections had a turnout of around 42%. opposition parties participated for the first time in four years after boycotting the elections since 2018. the process sunday was observed by dozens of international monitors, mostly from the european union, fulfilling a demand from the opposition. it marked the first time eu monitors traveled to venezuela in 15 years. this comes as venezuela continues to face a brutal economic crisis exacerbated by u.s. sanctions and as supporters of maduro urge international forces to stop intervening in the country. in haiti, two of the 17 north american missionary hostages taken in october have been released. few other details are known, but the christian aid ministries says the two freed members are healthy and safe. a haitian gang claimed

responsibility for the kidnapping and had threatened to kill the hostages if their ransom is not paid. in somalia, a prominent journalist has been killed by a suicide bomber in the capital mogadishu. abdiaziz mohamud guled was the director of radio mogadishu and a critic of the al-shabab armed group, which claimed responsibility for the attack. several others were also wounded, including the director of somali national television. the international organization for migration says 75 migrants drowned in the mediterranean off the coast of libya last week as they attempted to reach italy by boat. they were among the more than 1300 asylum-seekers the u.n. says have died trying to cross the central mediterranean this year. in greece, a court on the island of lesbos has postponed the trial of two dozen humanitarian aid workers who face sentences of up to 25 years in prison if found guilty of espionage and other charges. the volunteers were arrested for helping asylum-seekers who

arrived on lesbos by boat between 2016 and 2018. human rights groups say the charges are trumped up and aimed at deterring others from helping refugees in need. this is pieter wittenberg, one of the 25 whose trial was delayed last week. >> i am disappointed that we have not been ablto speak and demonstrate. once and for all today, it is not a crime. that will have to wait. amy: back in the united states, the house on friday voted 220-213 to approve the roughly $2 trillion social and climate package known as the build back better bill. the vote came after the congressional budget office released its analysis of the measure, which was demanded by conservative democrats. the legislation includes universal pre-k, subsidized child care, expanded financial aid for college, and four weeks paid family and medical leave.

it also designates $555 billion to help combat the climate catastrophe. on the immigration front, it would give undocumented people who came to the u.s. over 10 years ago up to 10 years of work authorization through a process known as parole. the measure now heads to the senate. and in labor news, janitors at denver international airport celebrated a historic victory saturday after reaching an agreement that includes a $4-an-hour pay increase over 3 years. the announcement came just hours after hundreds of custodial workers walked off the job in protest, demanding fair pay and better working conditions. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. when we come, protest have taken place across the country after injury in kenosha, wisconsin, acquitted 18-year-old kyle rittenhouse on all five counts of italy shooting two people the

debt and wounding a third during racial justice protests over the police shooting of jacob blake in kenosha. in a democracy now! exclusive, we will speak with jacob blake's father and his uncle. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. protests have taken place across the country after a jury in kenosha, wisconsin, found kyle rittenhouse not guilty on all five counts for fatally shooting two people and wounding a third last year during racial justice protests that began after police

in kenosha shot and paralyzed jacob blake. kyle rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, claimed he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot anthony huber and joseph rosenbaum with an ar-15-style rifle. rittenhouse took to the streets after a right-wing group had called for armed vigilantes to patrol kenosha. the jury's decision was announced on friday afternoon after about 26 hours of deliberations. >> the defendant will rise, face the jury. >> the state of wisconsin versus, rittenhouse. us that the first can, joseph rosenbaum, we the jury find the defendant kyle rittenhouse not guilty. as to the second count of the information richard mcginnis, we the jury find the defendant kyle rittenhouse not guilty. as to the third count of the information unknown male, we the jury find the defendant kyle

rittenhouse not guilty. as to the fourth count of the information anthony huber, we the jury find the defendant kyle rittenhouse not guilty. as to the fifth count of the information gaige grosskreutz, we find the defendant kyle rittenhouse not guilty. >> members of the jury, these are your unanimous verdicts? is there anyone who does not agree with the verdicts as read? amy: in a statement, the parents of anthony huber, one of the protesters killed by rittenhouse, said they were heartbroken and angry and that the verdict "sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street." the jury's decision in the kyle rittenhouse case was widely decried by racial justice activists and many politicians.

naacp president derrick johnson tweeted -- "the verdict in the #kylerittenhousetrial is a reminder of the treacherous role that white supremacy and privilege play within our justice system." california governor gavin newsom tweeted -- "america today: you can break the law, carry around weapons built for a military, shoot and kill people, and get away with it. that's the message we've just sent to armed vigilantes across the nation." many right-wg politicians have hailed kyle rittenhouse as a hero. republican congressmember madison cawthorn of north carolina has offered rittenhouse an internship. in a video message, cawthorn urged his instagram followers to be "armed and dangerous." today in a democracy now! exclusive, we are joined by two guests who have closely followed the trial. jacob blake, sr. and justin blake, the father and uncle of

jacob blake, the black man shot by kenosha police, sparking protest in the city. on august 23, 2020, a white police officer fired seven shots, at point-blank into the back of jacob blake as blake leaned into his car. inside the car were blake's three sons, aged three, five, and eight. jacob blake is partially paralyzed. his uncle justin joins us from milwaukee. he stood outside the courthouse every day during the kyle rittenhouse trial. and we are joined by justin's -- jacob blake's father, jacob blake, senior, who is joining us from charlotte, north carolina. jacob blake, let's begin with you. you are jacob blake's dad. he spent a lot of time in kenosha. not quite as much is justin and we will talk about that in a moment.

but can you talk about the verdict in this case, in the case of the young man, a teenager, armed with an ar-15 who shot to death two protesters who were in solidarity with your son who was killed by a -- who was shot seven times and in back by a police officer? >> thank you again. amy, we love your show. i love you. the verdict is a product of what i describe you the first time we spoke, the two systems of justice. the system of justice works if i look like kyle rittenhouse. it does not look if i look like jacob blake. the families united organized all over the united states and because of demographics, my brother, who is locally located

in wisconsin, took on the courthouse of kyle rittenhouse. myself, i was in north carolina with cameron lam's family. others in oklahoma with julius jones. we have another group going down to georgia so we understood what was going to happen in wisconsin, so we understood what my brother's response was going to be. he took on that responsibility. we got a victory in kansas city, which we should be talking about more in the national news. kansas city -- amy: talk about that conviction in a moment. that conviction of a white

police officer for killing an african-american man. >> 147 years for killing cameron lam. we as a group have been all over the united states standing with these families because of what we went through in kenosha. so understanding that systematic racism is prevalent. we understood. amy: have you talk to your son, jacob, and what is his response to the verdict? >> jacob can speak for himself. when he decides to come out and speak about it, he will speak on it. amy: how is he doing, jacob? >> from the time we spoke the first time, he is doing much better. he is doing much better. and we are praying every day

that he will be able to walk again. amy: justin blake, you stood outside that courthouse every day. yesterday, you let a protest. you were there along with the fiancée of joseph rosenbaum, who is one of the two men kyle rittenhouse killed that day. talk about the significance of this verdict. >> thank you for having us. this is a tragedy and a slap in the face to all the families that were involved. it made a mockery of the judicial system. it broke the whole city and shattered in many coming many pieces, not just the racial divide, but we work in organization go over 80 events

in wisconsin and in kenosha. this family, we were trying to support so they could focus on their family and what was going on in the courtroom. it is devastating the city. no one can believe it at all. it certainly sends a terrible precedent that we would have -- allow for the gun charge to be thrown out, that a 17-year-old kid should be able to carry a military style ribbon in the midst of chaos that's weapon in the midst of chaos. they were blasted with rubber bullets, gas, other projectiles, which force them from seven park what was almost like an ok corral thing with the militia, force them down away from the civic part where they were peacefully protesting into the masses of the militias. so it was a terrible cocktail and it just ended up even worse

with this young kid to look like he was 13 years old with his hat turned backwards. you can see from the video he was way over his head. like a deer in the headlights. it was a cocktail that was going to go wrong, and it did and ended with the loss of life to the two young men who were supporting my nephew and a severe injury of gaige. amy: we're going to speak with anthony huber's lawyer in the next segment. your nephew, jacob blake, new anthony. is that right? anthony is well known as a skateboarder in kenosha and was celebrated as a skateboard park recently. >> that is correct. he had some connection with jake. they were friends. this totally blew his mind what he saw on tv. his only reaction was to use his first amendment right to get out in the streets and voiced his opinion, that this was a god-awfuattack on little jake

who shot seven times in the back and front of his children and parazed by the officer and nothing became of it. so he saw that as a brutal attack, is to stand up for little jake was to peacefully protest and that led to the end of his life. so we can't allow the second amendment to hold the first amendment hostage. we must continue to fight and get justice for these families as well as little jake and families all around this nation. amy: justin blake, you said a lot did not come out in the trial. among other things, we know, to say the least, very controversial judge in the case, judge schrader. he said the men who died who were unarmed could not be referred to as victims, but can be referred to as arsonist, looters, and rioters. close not only that, there was a videotape that showed this young man think you could not would to

shoot somebody. explain the type of weapon he was going to use to shoot somebody and 30 to 40 days later, he murdered two people with the exact same gun he was speaking about. he was in a bar throwing up proud boy sides after he murdered two people. ere was no remorse. there is not on the stand. he said yet the right to defend himself. so this is the bush from that side to let them know their states on gun rights but this was not a gun rights case. this was a murder case. they were trying to say it was the second amendment rights. it was not that at all. i am a gun guy. it was not about hing guns. it was about the misuse of illegal weapons by a 17-year-old that had no right to be there, and basically, brought -- put these people in harms way. he was flailing a gun around.

then decided to murder these two young men. amy: just income you work with reverend jesse jackson's rainbow push coalition. there was a release from that organization that said the justice department should also consider aiding and abetting charges for rittenhouse's mother. can you explain? >> listen, i am from chicago. if there is a drive-by shooting, everybody in the vehicle, including the driver, gets a charge. so how could this lady possibly bring this young man across state lines and hasn't been charged with anything? furthermore, we want -- our family is going to push the head ag in d.c. pickup little jake' case, reopen it, review it, and get us justice. there are problems in mayberrys around the states. it is when they level the ground for those minorities and those people that aren't being

properly represented. so under democratic party, we feel betrayed by president biden and vice president harris, the floy family, jacob blake, go all around the country trying to do great work but we put this president in office and we feel terribly betrayed that biden has not stepped forward and help these families bring resolution to these see her injuries. amy: jacob blake, sr., if you would like to respond to some of those points? and also to president jo biden, who i believe you met with him and didn't you come at a certain point? >> right. we talked to him on the phone. we did not meet face-to-face so some of these things that the president has promised, it is not shown, it is not come to fruition. we set around and we wait for

him to do what he is supposed to do, and he did not. the doj turn down my son's right to be heard federally. they have already said no. so why would -- amy: no to an federal civil rights investigation? >> they said, no, they would not charge him. what is wrong with america? what is wrong that a judge in kenosha, wisconsin, could so blatantly be on the side of kyle rittenhouse? blatantly. is he one of them? that is what it seemed like to last. it seemed like they were stacked, the cards were stacked against us. amy: i want to play the comments of president biden. he followed the protests in kenosha after the police shooting of jacob blake during his presidential campaign last

year. this was president biden responding to the verdict on friday. >> do you have any reaction to kyle rittenhouse's verdict? mr. biden: i just heard a moment ago. i did not watch the trial. >> do you stand by your past comment -- what supremacy? pres. biden: i stand by the jury. the jury system works and we have to rely on it. amy: jacob blake, sr., your response? >> the jury system does not work. it may work for those that do not look like me. for my caucasian counterparts, it works. when it comes to us, it does not work most it worked in kansas city for the first time in 147 years. so do we have kibbles and bits, they throw is one because it was so blatant in kansas city that the police found -- they cannot

tell me the police do not tamper with evidence. they moved a dead body. they moved a weapon. they changed reports. it came out in court. that set the precedent that that is what they do. and we are caught up in kenosha when we should have all the national coverage for the lamb family, cameron lamb, we should have the coverage because that was a victory. here we knew this was coming. we knew it was coming. amy: let me go to that case you're talking about, that you have been following so closely, supporting the family and friends of cameron lamb. >> i was in the courtroom. amy: he is the black man who was killed in missouri by white kansas city police detective who was found guilty on friday a fatally shooting lamb outside

his own home in a december 2019. after vulcan there was convicted on charges of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action for firing two rounds at 26-year-old cameron lamb who was killed as he backed his truck into his own garage. at the time, the officers had no arrest warrant and no evidence of a crime. i want to play again civil-rights attorney lee merritt representing lamb's family. >> this is momentous. this is historic. it means something. this is going to mean something when you go back to georgia. it will mean something for ahmaud arbery. it will mean something for tatyana jefferson. it will mean something for botham jean. it is going to mean somethin for so many families that have been impacted -- ronald greene in illinois. these instances of justice in

her system are far too rare. amy: if you can talk about what you are in the courtroom, why this case in particular was so important to you, again, this detective was a white effective who has now been found guilty of murdering cameron lamb. close cameron lamb's family reached out to me personally and the families united along with the justice reform group that we have established here to protect these families and stand up for these families. they invited me -- want to stand with them to give them strength because they needed to feel backed up. they needed to feel someone was behind them. so we showed up in the courtroom. i was there with lee and lee was back and forth from georgia to

kansas city because lee represents the family also -- amy: of ahmaud arbery. >> yes. lee has more frequent flyer miles than me and that is incredible. amy: i want to talk with you both -- i mean, this is an exclusive interview, that you of you at the same time. we of justin blake -- >> that hasn't happened in a long time. amy: and we have jacob blake in the studio in charlotte, north carolina, where he lives. i've got your family's history, who jacob blake is named for -- your son jacob blake, sr., your father, both of your fathers, jacob blake, sr., the reverend jacob blake, civil rights activist on evanston who led a movement for housing equality, worked with dr. martin luther king. can you talk about that history of activism through to what you

both are doing today? justin, why don't we begin with you? >> well, they don't understand what got us up 9:00 in the money every day or 8:00 to be on the courtroom steps, as my great-grandfather on one side was a night and my father side, unia. on the other side, my great-grandfather was a porter. he purchased the house. my grandfather was an airman who helped train the german that went over to fly in the war, tried by my grandfather. we have it in our dna we cannot sit down. we must make change. our family jacob blake, myself, members of the floyd family want to be in every fight around this country that have anything to do

with getting justice for our people. amy: and jacob blake, sr. come your father, who you are named for, that housing militancy, activism, irreverent in evanston outside chicago? >> well, my father was definitely -- he march from selma to montgomery across the pettus bridge. he helped found breadbasket in chicago. my great-grandfather, as my brother stated, was in knight. great-grandfather was one of the first black pullman conductors. so understanding the civil rights flows in our blood, it was only god that chose this to happen to my son -- we were already speaking activism for

this happened to my son. we were always pro-black activists. then when this happened to my son, we became activists for everyone who has been affected. so it was only natural. what flows in your dna, comes out. and me and my brother -- i would rather die fighting and be a slave. amy: and then you have your father the reverend jacob blake, with the reverend eustis blake leading a protest against police brutality in newark, new jersey. >> and there's a building in newark, new jersey, today that is called the blake house. it has a huge picture of my uncle eustis in it. when i was in college, i used to go to newark, new jersey, just

to hang out with my friends that went to college with me. and we would walk back that -- pass that house and it said the blake house. they said, -- they would tease me, not knowing that was really named after my family. yes, newark, new jersey, plays a huge role. cory booker is a dear friend. that is why we fight to change laws, amy. we are not in this just to be walking, just to be protesting. our objective is to get to congress, change these laws -- we are lobbying like everyone else because black lives matter. because white lives matter. so it black lives don't matter, did everything is going offkilter. there is no balance. we have to understand that black

people are just as important as my counterparts. we put in a lot of work, amy. we are all over the country fighting for families. i will be with ahmaud arbery's mother this week waiting for the verdict because we show unity. we show unity. we show direction. we will not be pushed off our paths. we will stand strong on what this is built on, the foundation. amy: your comment, just template come on this moment that your brother jacob is talking about? you have the white supremacy trial going on in charlottesville. you have the ahmaud arbery order trial taking place, three white men are on trial was the one of them is a former police officer and police investigator. and of course you have the case of kyle rittenhouse. your thoughts at this key moment

in time? >> it is time for us to forge on. we, the blake family, we went down to the federal building in chicago to stand with the haitians when they were being abused on the border. we are going to bring about unity to our people. you must understand, we make this country the richest country in the world by 300, 400 years of free slavery. if anybody deserves the vote, we deserve the vote. we deserve those civil rights and liberties. we are going to unite the nigerians, the african-americans, the jamaicans, the haitians all in one and we won't have to ask for much. we will be demanding our needs. we are in the midst of putting together our platform that we will be operating on and our directors and what our ask will be. i don't think we ever in the united states have really done that before.

we have to do that because that is the proper way to demand and to ask what you're looking to do and the changes. this system is broken, and we all know that now. this was a good look at that through this case that we just followed the last uple weeks. we must do something about it. we have to be direct about it. if it is not good for us, it is not good for anybody else. when the african-american community is doing well, that city must be doing well, the county must be doing well, the state and the nation so there doesn't have to be a win-loss scenario. we want to let people know there could a win-win scenario where we as the african-american community do well. where hashe money been? what is it always go to downtown and not the south sidento the west side of chicago? chicago, westside and southside look like it did in 1979. it is appalling. we cannot continue to do this. we derve the resources that

every other community gets. we pay the same taxes and we deserve the same treatment. amy: i want to thank you both for being with us, justin blake joining us from milwaukee. and jacob blake joining us from charlotte, north carolina. the father and uncle of jacob blake. the young black man shot by kenosha police, sparking protest throughout kenosha. i want to thank you so much for spending this time. next up, we will speak to the way representing the family of anthony huber, one of the two protesters shot dead by kyle rittenhouse. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in kenosha, wisconsin, sunday people took to the streets to protest the acquittal of kyle rittenhouse and to remember his victims. they walked the same route rittenhouse took when he shot and killed joseph rosenbaum and anthony huber and wounded gaige grosskreutz during protests following the police shooting of jacob blake. joseph rosenbaum was the first person rittenhouse shot. with his ar-15-style rifle. joseph rosenbaum was 36 36 years old. he had just been released that same day from a milwaukee hospital where he had been treated for a suicide attempt.

he was unarmed when he was shot by rittenhouse. roosevelt was shot four times. -- rosenbaum was shot four times. after rittenhouse killed rosenbaum, several protesters who believed rittenhouse was an active shooter, begin chasing him. 26-year-old anthony huber tried to disarm him by hitting him with what he had in his hand, his skateboard. rittenhouse shot and killed him within seconds. gaige grosskreutz was the only person who survived being shot by rittenhouse. anthony huber's parents, karen bloom and john huber, said they were heartbroken and angry over the verdict, which they said did not deliver justice for any of rittenhouse's victims. this is anthony huber's father john huber responding to the verdict on cnn. >> we are still in shock here, you know? that guy gets to run free and he

is now a hero. this is my son right here. this is anthony. we lost our son and there's no justice right now for our family and there is no closure. there wasn't going to be justice in the kenosha court with that judge. amy: after rittenhouse's acquittal, anthony huber's girlfriend hannah gittings, who was with him the night of the protest, told reporters that she wasn't surprised by the verdict, saying, "we know that this system is a failure." this is hannah speaking friday outside the kenosha courthouse. >> i miss anthony every single day. every day i wish that i could come home to him and unload some of this weight that is on my shoulders, but i can't because he is dead. and now the system is telling me

that nobody needs to answer for that. and i have a problem with that. i think i have been very open in expressing my empathy for the other side of this, but that is just not reciprocated back. amy: she was standing next to jacob blake's uncle, justin blake. anthony huber's parents also released a statement after kyle rittenhouse was found not guilty, saying -- "make no mistake: our fight to hold those responsible for anthony's death accountable continues in full force. neither mr. rittenhouse nor the kenosha police who authorized his bloody rampage will escape justice. anthony will have his day in court." there are now several civil lawsuits filed that are still pending. huber's parents filed a federal lawsuit in august against the kenosha police department, the kenosha county sheriff's

department, as well as the sheriff and police chief that alleges they allowed rittenhouse and others to "patrol the streets, armed with deadly weapons, to mete out justice as they saw fit." grosskreutz has also filed a lawsuit alleging that city officials and law enforcement were aware of, supported and collaborated with armed vigilantes on the night of the shooting. for more, we go to chicago, where we are joined by anand swaminathan, attorney at loevy & representing the parents of anthony huber. if you can respond to the verdict and talk about what we learned and did not learn in this trial. >> thank you for having me. we just heard from jacob blake's family and i think one thing that is striking right away of course is there statement there were not surprised at all by the verdict. there were many people who have said since his verdict came out that there were not surprised by e result. i think that is something we all

have to wrestle with. we are living in a society right now were so many people just knew in the heart of hearts that would be no justice in this case, there would be no accountability for kyle rittenhouse and that is the system and the state of a first that we are living in. that is extremely problematic. amy: why don't we start from the beginning. when the judge, to say the least, surprised many when he said that the victims of rittenhouse could not be referred -- the men who were killed by rittenhouse, anthony huber and joseph rosenbaum, could not be referred to as "victims" were they could be referred to as "arsonists, looters, and rioters." >> i would it clear couple of things up. one, there is no evidence presented at the trial to suggest that mr. huber was an

arsonist or looter or anything else. the judge said, if you can come up without evidence, you may be able to present it. no such evidence was developed. i want to be clear about that. when it comes to the ruling that rittenhouse cannot be referred to -- could not refer to the victims as victims, i want to say this, first, there absolutely victims. anthony huber, gaige grosskreutz , and joseph rosenbaum were all victims of kyle rittenhouse. the for kyle rittenhouse's decision to come to kenosha and come to kenosha armed with a weapon of war, they would be alive today, period. yes, they absolutely were victims. anthony huber's mom and dad, karen and john come absolutely believe their son was a victim of kyle rittenhouse. in terms of judicial rule and the evidentiary decision whether or not certain terms and terminology should be used in the courtroom, i want to have some caution on wayne yan only

because i don't want to be outcome determinative about what with the evidentiary ruling should be. ultimately, i'm a civil rights lawyer and many rubbers of people who are accused and we believe in the rights of the accused step we should be thoughtful about weighing in about what we think ruling should be but that does not change the fact absolutely, these young men were vtims of kyle rittenhouse. amy: if you can tell us a little bit about anthony huber. i think one of the things that is very clear in this trial -- we know about this young man. we watched him cry in the courtroom, kyle rittenhouse. we don't know about his victims. tell us who anthony huber was. the blakes just said he was a friend of jacob blake who was shot by police officer seven times in the back. what he came out that night. and then what happened. >> thank you for that because it

is a great point. the world did not get to hear from anthony huber and he did not get the due process that kyle rittenhouse got come he did not get an opportunity to present his case, hendry instructions in his favor, and so on. he had judge, jury, and executioner. thank you for that opportunity. anthony huber was loved. he was loved by his parents. he was loved by hanna and many others. he was a tremendous skateboarder. those areas in kenosha, downtown kenosha, where his part, his community, where he spent so much time. the idea -- [indiscernible] consistently when we talk to people that anthony, was an absolutely lovely person.

he was loved by all those around him. amy: we were showing video of him skateboarding. if you could talk about that night. in many circles especially in kenosha and the black lives matter activists, they refer to him as a hero. he had already killed jojo, joseph rosenbaum. he was not armed, anthony huber, but he went to take down this shooter, what he called -- i think gaige grosskreutz called him an active shooter, which many people were running away. it was running toward him because he was afraid he would kill others. >> yeah, that's right. as anthony's parents have said repeatedly, what is happening in the aftermath of this incident and some of the hateful demeaning comments made to them over time is. hateful because they know in reality, their son was a hero.

we have a dangerous situation -- and kyle rittenhouse had created a severely dangerous situation. he had already killed a man. many people ran away. anthony huber stepped in to try and stop this person. i now must any scenario, we call that person a hero. we celebrate somebody who steps into danger to try and protect others. because of the polarized nature and politics around this case, it is turned into something else entirely but it should not be lost anthony huber was absolutely hero. amy: his parents saying he is a hero who sacrificed his own life to protect other innocent civilians. the judge himself -- the judge's cell phone went off during the trial and played a ring tone of the song "god bless the usa" which is opening some height at donald trump rallies. do you feel this judge, judge schroeder, was impartial?

>> well, he would not have mattered what happened in the courtroom in evidentiary rulings. ultimately what you had, and we were not surprised, the problem is you cannot remove the context that surrounded a case like this. ultimately, of agreement will justice process that resulted in a jury of a think 19 out of 20 people to the jurors and alternates that were white. you have a situation in which the when the evidence is going to be perceived is itself impacted by race and other issues. ultimately, i think there are many aspects of this case -- i'm very appreciative to the blake family he interviewed earlier for all their work organizing to try and help people understand what goes on in these cases and the injustices. but in this case, we cannot

forget the racial context surrounding this case. first and foremost is -- i'm so glad you put the blakes on because the story of the rittenhouse shooting and anthony huber's case alternately starts with the shooting of jacob blake, an unarmed like man. it ends with a white 17-year-old with an assault rifle shooting three people and literally walking away with the smoking gun in his hands and the police don't just not shoot him, they let him walk away. the juxtaposition of these circumstances is stark and says something about this country. that is not the only racial context that exists here. the other one is, how does a jury perceived arguments of self-defense when they look at an individual, subjective assessments about whether you perceived a threat, whether you were in fact yourself a threat? the extent to which we believe in were secondment right to carry a gun or not. all of these things are impacted by race.

amy: do you think this had something to do with the fact -- >> created a dangerous situation. turnaround and argue self-defense and say, hey, that dangerous situation i crated by showing up -- amy: anand swamisrrrrqúúú

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