Oregon politician Gregory McKelvey, who is Vice-Chair of the Oregon Democratic Black Caucus, proclaimed that employers should consider giving their “Black employees a day or two off after the Rittenhouse verdict.” His reasoning is that, no matter what the verdict, “it’s going to be hard for Black people to work and it isn’t fair to expect them to.”

Kyle Rittenhouse shot three white men, killing two, during riots in Kenosha, Wisc. on August 25, 2020. Rittenhouse has pleaded self-defense on all three counts stemming from those shootings, and one of those who was shot, Gaige Grosskreutz, admitted on the stand that he advanced on Rittenhouse and pointed his own gun at him before the teen fired.

The case has been largely portrayed by leftist elements in the mainstream press as one about race. This perception comes from the fact that the riots began after police shot and paralyzed Jacob Blake seven times while trying to enforce a restraining order against him on August 23 in Kenosha.