When Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder ruled that prosecutors cannot use “victim” or “victims” to describe the three men Kyle Rittenhouse shot during the Jacob Blake riots, Twitter rage ensued.
The furious tweets suggest the judge erred and gave Rittenhouse special treatment. But what the armchair lawyers don’t say is telling. The judge customarily prohibits calling such individuals “victims” because a crime has not been proven.
Nor does the Twitter flock of legal eagles want anyone to know that calling the three “victims” stretches the word to the breaking point. Two of them — the men who died — were dangerous violent criminals; the third is a petty violent criminal who not only brandished a gun at Rittenhouse but also said he regretted not killing the 17-year-old.
Video footage of that night clearly proves Rittenhouse shot the men in self defense.
“His Standard Rule”
Hard as it is to believe after the Chauvin Show Trial, the judge apparently wants to give Rittenhouse a fair shake. Thus, the ruling, which was in keeping with Schroeder’s usual practice.
“Per his standard rule, Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder prohibits use of the term ‘victim’ until someone is convicted of a crime,” Milwaukee’s Journal Sentinel reported.
Not permitting prosecutor Thomas Binger to call Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber, and Gaige Grosskreutz “victims,” the Chicago Tribune observed, is “not uncommon in self-defense cases where there is a dispute over who bears responsibility.”
“The word ‘victim’ is a loaded, loaded word,” Schroeder said. “‘Alleged victim’ is a cousin to it.”
As well, Schroeder ruled, defense attorneys can call the three men “rioters,” “looters” or “arsonists” in closing arguments if the evidence shows they did those things.
“This is an attempt to tell the jury that Mr. Rosenbaum was a bad guy who deserved to die,” the prosecutor said with a straight face. “That’s really what’s going on here, your honor.”
A Rapist, a Strangler, a Thug
But Rosenbaum was a bad guy whom many likely did think deserved to die.
As The New American reported after the events of August 25, last year, Rosenbaum wasn’t just a “father” and “fiancé,” as the leftist media put it. He raped and sodomized five little boys, the pre-sentencing report after his trial shows:
K*** S*** reported the defendant touched his penis and exposed his own penis. J*** O*** said he saw the defendant masturbate… and he showed him magazines depicting naked, adult females. C*** A*** was anally penetrated by the defendant on March 27, 2002, as was his twin. C*** also was shown adult pornography, and, while the defendant showed him these images, he masturbated. … And C*** A*** reported that, on March 27, 2002, the defendant performed oral sex on his younger brother, D*** A*** , and had D*** perform oral sex on him. D*** A*** also recalled the defendant had him perform mutual masturbation on March 27, 2002.
Rosenbaum cornered Rittenhouse and attacked him.
Huber, who attacked Rittenhouse with a skateboard, was also a dangerous, violent felon. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to two felony domestic abuse charges: strangulation and suffocation, and false imprisonment, use of a dangerous weapon.
Prosecutors dismissed a third felony and three other violent misdemeanor charges.
In 2015, the angry skateboarder pleaded no contest to possession of drug paraphernalia. He violated probation in 2016, and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic abuse in 2018.
Grosskreutz is also a violent criminal, and brandished a pistol before Rittenhouse shot him. In 2017, Grosskreutz pleaded guilty to carrying a firearm while intoxicated and no contest to driving on a suspended license. In 2013, a wider Internet search for court records shows, he faced a felony and three misdemeanor charges in connection with a burglary.
Among the many crimes connected to Grosskreutz’s name are these:
- Simple Assault/Domestic Violence
- Burglary of Home
- Criminal Trespass to Dwelling
- Disorderly Conduct
- Criminal Damage to Property
- OWI
- Possession of Firearm by Felon
- Possession of Firearm while Intoxicated
- Endangering Safety by use of Dangerous Weapon
- Loud Noise
- Disobedience to Officers
- Prowling
Cops have arrested Grosskreutz at least twice since the night he was shot, and afterward, he told a friend he regretted not killing Rittenhouse.
Twitter Mob
Those are the men the Twitter mob wants to call “victims.”
“I tried murder cases,” a former prosecutor and CNN talker Elie Honig tweeted:
It never even came up that we might have to call the victims anything other than “victims.” This is crazy and wrong.
Another lefist called it “beyond logic,” while a third tweet might be the most amusing:
This is an assault on our Constitution. Citizens are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. For this judge to allow these victims to be referred to as criminals without due process is insane!
Except that Rittenhouse is on trial, not the “victims.”
