Upright: “Rittenhouse was on the streets of Kenosha, where he worked and his father lived, on the third night of riots following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The multi-day riots themselves were the end of a chain of bad decisions by Wisconsin governor Tony Evers, who fanned the flames of misinformed outrage at the Blake shooting and then resisted calls to put an adequate number of National Guard members on the streets to restore order. … The trial was conducted in a shameful circus atmosphere, in which national journalists demonized the trial judge (a Democrat with decades of experience on the bench and a reputation for favoring criminal defendants), the prosecutor pointed a rifle at the jury with his finger on the trigger, and MSNBC ended up getting kicked out of the courtroom after a stringer was caught following the bus carrying the jurors. It is to the jury’s credit that they did not crack under the pressure to throw the defendant to the wolves.” —National Review

Amen: “Can we allow this scab to finally heal? Can we stop picking at the wounds? … I think we should let the American justice system speak for itself.” —Virginia Lt. Gov.-elect Winsome Sears

No kidding: “Joe Biden needs to publicly apologize to Kyle Rittenhouse.” —Senator Tom Cotton

“The verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included.” —President Joe Biden

“The verdict really speaks for itself. As many of you know, I’ve spent the majority of my career working to make the criminal justice system more equitable, and clearly there’s a lot more to do.” —Vice President Kamala Harris (“Kamala Harris, who shared a bail fund for criminal rioters during the summer 2020 riots, says ‘there’s a lot more work to do’ with the criminal justice system.” —Daily Caller)

“It’s disgusting and disturbing that someone was able to carry a loaded assault rifle into a protest against the unjust killing of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, and take the lives of two people and injure another — and face absolutely no consequences.” —Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney (“Jacob Blake was paralyzed by the shooting, not killed, and was in fact armed with a knife. The police officer who responded to the domestic disturbance call that led to Blake’s shooting was not charged either by the state or the federal government after investigations.” —Fox News)

“This heartbreaking verdict 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 engage in First Amendment-protected protest.” —House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (“White Congressman who represents Wall Street district calls for retrial of criminal defendant acquitted of shooting three white men.” —Dan McLaughlin)

“It is unconscionable our justice system would allow an armed vigilante … to go free. The ludicrous claim of self-defense is on par with the abhorrent behavior displayed by the prosecution and the judge.” —Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chairwoman Joyce Beatty

“The acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse is an example of why the nation must re-examine self-defense laws in our justice system. When you seek out violence wielding a dangerous weapon, there should be accountability for deadly results.” —Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux

“Kyle Rittenhouse is living proof that white tears can still forestall justice. A murderer is once again walking free today — our system is terribly broken.” —Congressman Adriano Espaillat

“Racism & white supremacy remain the bedrock of our legal system. My heart breaks for the family & loved ones of those whose lives were stolen, and the trauma our communities face today and every day. The struggle for accountability, for justice, for healing goes on.” —Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley

“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.” —California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom

“Carrying a loaded gun into a community 20 miles from your home and shooting unarmed citizens is fundamentally wrong. It’s a tragedy that the court could not acknowledge that basic fact. 26-year-old Anthony Huber and 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum, a father, had their whole lives ahead of them. They deserved to be alive today. They deserve justice. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who loved them. We must do better than this.” —Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker

“No one should ever take the law into their own hands, or attempt to make themselves the judge, jury, and executioner. What Kyle Rittenhouse did was reckless, dangerous, and showed an utter disregard for human life. My condolences go out to the family, friends, and loved ones of the victims during this difficult time.” —Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot

“Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum are victims. They should be alive today. The only reason they’re not is because a violent, dangerous man chose to take a gun across state lines and start shooting people. To call this a miscarriage of justice is an understatement.” —New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio

“This is yet another reminder that our system needs to be uprooted and reformed.” —New York Attorney General Letitia James

“We knew, but it’s sometimes helpful to remind ourselves how America was designed to work. It continues to work as designed. We have learned again what is considered legal for some people to do in America. It’s helpful to know where you stand in your country.” —MSNBC’s Joy Reid

“I’m disgusted at what I’m seeing. It’s not just this trial — it’s other trials — but this in particular. The fact that white supremacists roam the halls of Congress freely and celebrate this little murderous white supremacist, and the fact that he gets to walk the streets freely. It lets you know these people have access to instituting laws. They represent the legislative branch of this country.” —MSNBC’s Tiffany Cross

“This is not a miscarriage of justice. This is justice working as intended for white people. … This is what a majority of white people vote for. When I say that majority of white people are in favor of this kind of violence, it is because a majority of white people consistently vote Republican.” —The Nation legal correspondent Elie Mystal

“Kyle Rittenhouse killed two people and is not guilty of murder. This is indeed a grave miscarriage of justice.” —"Reverend" Jesse Jackson

“In this country, you can even kill white people and get away with it if those white people are fighting for Black lives. This is the legacy of 1619.” —Nikole Hannah-Jones

“We just witnessed a system built on white supremacy validate the terroristic acts of a white supremacist. This only further validates the need to abolish our current system. White supremacy cannot be reformed.” —former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernic (“Three white men — one convicted child rapist, one domestic abuser, and one previously charged with burglary — tried to burn down black-owned businesses and were shot when they attacked a kid and Colin insists it’s ‘white supremacy.’” —Dana Loesch)

“Ha, let the boy be black and it would’ve been life…hell he would’ve had his life taken before the bullsh*t trial.. sad.” —NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace (“Remember when you lied about a noose in your garage?” —Matt Walsh)

And last… “Kyle Rittenhouse was rightly found not guilty (obviously). He should sue the major media outlets (obviously). But is anyone else wondering why Gage Grosskreutz doesn’t also have to go on trial for threatening & chasing someone with a weapon? Or does that only apply to non-antifa?” —Congressman Dan Crenshaw