Tipsheet

In Tweet of Falsehoods, Judiciary Chairman Claims Rittenhouse Verdict 'Justifies Federal Review by DOJ'

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  November 19, 2021 7:45 PM

A jury may have found Kyle Rittenhouse "not guilty" on all counts, but it appears a key Democrat wants to drag this out further. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, took to his official Twitter account not just to lament the verdict as "heartbreaking," but to claim it "justifies federal review by [the Department of Justice.]"

In addition to tweeting such fired up language, Nadler tweeted falsehoods when it comes to "armed persons crossing state lines." While Rittenhouse traveled from Antioch, Illinois, which is about 20 miles away from Kenosha, Wisconsin, he testified under oath that the gun he had with him on August 25, 2020 was in the possession of a friend, who was in the state of Wisconsin. 

As a Wednesday post from FactCheck.org by D'Angelo Gore pointed out in fact-checking such a claim that the weapon crossed state lines, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) made similar false claims during a November 14 interview on CNN. She also falsely claimed that Rittenhouse's mother drove her armed then 17-year old son across state lines and "should have been detained for child endangerment."

Nadler also claimed that Rittenhouse was "looking for trouble while people engage in First Amendment-protected protest."

However, violent rioting is certainly not "First-Amendment protected." In fact, it's why the jury found Rittenhouse "not guilty" on all charges, as they believed that Rittenhouse killed two men and injured a third in self-defense. 

Recommended

Here's a Liberal Policy That Now Has Bill Maher 'Incensed' Matt Vespa
There’s a Massive Pushback Brewing Against the Pro-Hamas Thugs Taking Over College Campuses Matt Vespa

Nadler's tweet had a lot of replies and quoted retweets taking issue with his claims, including from those who pointed out the misleading and false statements.

A particularly memorable tweet decided to address the issue of crossings, as the user brought in Nadler's view on immigration.

Nadler has communicated distorted views on these "First-Amendment protected protests" before. During a House Judiciary Committee hearing in the summer of 2020, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the ranking member of the committee, showed video footage of violent protests that occurred that year.

That hearing was on July 28, 2020, almost a month before the riots in Kenosha over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man the media claimed was unarmed, but who himself admitted he had a knife. The hearing is also referenced in Jordan's upcoming book "Do What You Said You Would Do: Fighting for Freedom in the Swamp."

And, as Leah reported on July 27, 2020, Nadler believes Antifa is a "myth," according to a filmed exchange between Nadler and journalist Austen Fletcher.

Clearly, Nadler has not learned his lesson since then.