Rep. Nadler calls Rittenhouse verdict a 'miscarriage of justice', calls riots 'First Amendment-protected protest'

On Friday, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, criticized the not-guilty verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, calling it a miscarriage of justice, while calling the Antifa-driven violent riots in Kenosha "First Amendment-protected protest."

"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."

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is a federal agency that has a limited scope and authority. This means that, Rep. Nadler's rhetoric aside, the DOJ would have no legal means of acting on the verdict of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. In fact, their own documents explicitly state that they are absolutely not allowed to "intervene on matters of state law."

Also at issue is Rep. Nadler's characterization of the violent riots which were taking place in Kenosha Wisconsin at that time as "First Amendment-protected protest." The fact is, at the time of the incident where Rittenhouse shot three of his assailants and killed two of them, the city was already in a very violent state.

"I join Chairman Nadler in that request," commented Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe. "The idea that other vigilantes could take it upon themselves to shoot innocent people to death the way Rittenhouse did and get away scott free is incompatible with the survival of a civilized, law-based society."