Some journalists and court watchers admit initial bias in Rittenhouse trial

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Washington Examiner

The nation has been glued to the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, watching live feeds of courtroom proceedings and flocking to social media to discuss everything from the judge's quirks to the defendant's "crocodile tears."

From the start, the case has divided America, with people sticking to their belief that the Illinois teenager was either a young patriot or a lawless vigilante dispatched to the small Wisconsin city of Kenosha hellbent on havoc.

But over the course of the two-week trial, a third group of people has emerged — people who initially believed the narrative, largely peddled by the media, that Rittenhouse was an unhinged trigger-happy teenager, only to watch the proceedings for themselves and come away with a different opinion.

Rittenhouse, 18, is accused of killing Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and grievously injuring Gaige Grosskreutz after shooting him in the arm during a night of violent clashes in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020. Prosecutors have painted Rittenhouse as a "tourist" drawn to chaos, while the defense has claimed he feared for his life and shot the men in self-defense.

Ana Kasparian, a host for the liberal outlet The Young Turks , said she wanted to "correct the record" on an assumption she had previously made on Rittenhouse's self-defense narrative.

KYLE RITTENHOUSE SOBS IN COURT AS HE TAKES STAND

"Initially, I was under the assumption that Rittenhouse was the person who was chasing after Joseph Rosenbaum," she said on air. "That's how it had started, but I was wrong about that."

The Young Turks host followed up her comment by showing a video of Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse before he was fatally shot.

She said "what really mattered" was "what started it all."

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Trial by media doesn't work.