Tipsheet

Wisconsin Puts 500 National Guard Troops on Standby Ahead of Rittenhouse Verdict

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  November 13, 2021 11:40 AM

Wisconsin's Democrat Governor Tony Evers announced this weekend that he authorized his state's National Guard to prepare for a verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse while warning those from out of town to "reconsider" any planned visits ahead of Monday's closing arguments.

In a press release issued Friday, the Governor's office said that "approximately 500 Wisconsin Army National Guard troops are reporting for State Active Duty... to support local partners in ensuring public safety in conjunction with hundreds of officers from volunteering law enforcement agencies."

Governor Evers said in the release that his office would "continue to be in close contact with our partners at the local level to ensure the state provides support and resources to help keep the Kenosha community and greater area safe," adding "The Kenosha community has been strong, resilient, and has come together through incredibly difficult times these past two years, and that healing is still ongoing."

Wisconsin's chief executive also warned "folks who are otherwise not from the [Kenosha] area to please respect the community by reconsidering any plans to travel there" and called on "those who might choose to assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights to do so safely and peacefully."

Maj. Gen. Paul Knapp — Wisconsin's adjutant general — said his state's forces "stand ready to support our communities during times of need" and that "in close coordination with the governor, we have assembled approximately 500 Soldiers to help keep the Kenosha community safe, should a request from our local partners come in."

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According to the Governor's Office, "members of the Wisconsin National Guard will stage outside Kenosha in a standby status to respond in requested by local law enforcement agencies. These Guard members "may only be used to provide support to local law enforcement and to protect critical infrastructure and cultural institutions necessary for the well-being of the community, and to provide support to first responders such as the Kenosha Fire Department," the release explains. "The National Guard may not be used to impeded the ability of the people to peacefully protest or impede the ability of the media to report."

Governor Evers decision comes ahead of Monday's expected closing arguments and amid escalating rhetoric from Democrats and mainstream media outlets scrambling to construct a narrative in which anything short of a full conviction merits some sort of miscarriage of justice despite the facts of the case being anything but a slam dunk for prosecutors. 

In recent days, many of the same mainstream media outlets and Democrats have also gone after Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder, for everything from his American flag tie (gasp?), to his cell phone ringtone, to his rulings on evidence admissibility, and more. 

As former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker pointed out after Evers' activation of the state's National Guard, the mainstream media's past characterizations of events in Kenosha have shown a tenuous grip on reality — something they haven't seemed eager to fix in their coverage of the Rittenhouse trial as its conclusion nears.