Statement of Karen Bloom & John Huber in Response to the Rittenhouse Verdict

[Algernon Moncrieff]

Source: Loevy & Loevy, A Civil Rights Law Firm

NOVEMBER 19, 2021

Kenosha, Wisconsin – We are heartbroken and angry that Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted in his criminal trial for the murder of our son Anthony Huber. There was no justice today for Anthony, or for Mr. Rittenhouse’s other victims, Joseph Rosenbaum and Gaige Grosskreutz.

We did not attend the trial because we could not bear to sit in a courtroom and repeatedly watch videos of our son’s murder, and because we have been subjected to many hurtful and nasty comments in the past year. But we watched the trial closely, hoping it would bring us closure.

That did not happen. Today’s verdict means there is no accountability for the person who murdered our son. It sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street. We hope that decent people will join us in forcefully rejecting that message and demanding more of our laws, our officials, and our justice system.

Make no mistake: our fight to hold those responsible for Anthony’s death accountable continues in full force. Neither Mr. Rittenhouse nor the Kenosha police who authorized his bloody rampage will escape justice. Anthony will have his day in court.

No reasonable person viewing all of the evidence could conclude that Mr. Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. In response to racist and violent calls to action from militia members, Mr. Rittenhouse travelled to Kenosha illegally armed with an assault rifle. He menaced fellow citizens in the street. Though he was in open violation of a curfew order, Kenosha police encouraged him to act violently. Kenosha police told militia members that they would push peaceful protestors toward the militia so that the militia could “deal with them.” Soon after, Mr. Rittenhouse killed Joseph Rosenbaum. The police did nothing. Concerned citizens, confronted with a person shooting indiscriminately on the street, stepped in to stop the violence. Anthony was shot in the chest trying to disarm Mr. Rittenhouse and stop his shooting spree. Still, the police did nothing. Mr. Rittenhouse continued to shoot, maiming Gaige Grosskreutz. The police let Mr. Rittenhouse leave the scene freely. Mr. Rittenhouse came to Kenosha armed to kill. Kenosha police encouraged him to act violently, and our son is dead as a result.

We are so proud of Anthony, and we love him so much. He is a hero who sacrificed his own life to protect other innocent civilians. We ask that you remember Anthony and keep him in your prayers.

[senseandsensibility]

1. I am glad they are speaking up.

They deserve to be heard.

[homegirl]

49. MORE TO COME FOR KYLE...

Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after a jury in Wisconsin found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty after shooting and killing two Black Lives Matter protesters, a former New York prosecutor suggested that families of the victims could file civil suits with an expectation of success.

Speaking with host Kendis Gibson, Charles Coleman said it would be up to the families if they want to pursue Rittenhouse further.

"Charles, the criminal case is over, but could Rittenhouse still face anything civilly, any civil penalties?" host Gibson asked.

"He could," the attorney conceded. "I don't know how likely it is, but it is very possible. I think that the outcome of this criminal case certainly gives the chance of a civil case some degree of difficulty in terms of being able to get a liability verdict in civil court but it's important that viewers understand that the standard for a civil case is much lower in terms of the standard of proof than it is for a criminal case."

"A criminal case requires that it is beyond a reasonable doubt," he elaborated. "Whereas a civil case requires that it is beyond a preponderance of the evidence, which is basically 50.0001% of being able to prove or establish liability. With a lower bar perhaps it may be that plaintiffs decide that they want to try to sue for wrongful death, or some other sort of injury, and make Kyle Rittenhouse responsible -- that remains to be seen at this point."

[onecaliberal]

2. I hope they initiate civil litigation for wrongful death.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

10. The statement reproduced below was released by John Huber & Karen Bloom on August 17, 2021

Loevy & Loevy

The statement reproduced below was released by John Huber & Karen Bloom on August 17, 2021, after they filed their civil rights lawsuit against the City and County of Kenosha. That lawsuit is pending in federal district court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, under the caption Huber v. Beth, et al., No. 2:21-cv-00969. [...]

Milwaukee, August 17, 2021 – Almost one year ago, Anthony Huber was tragically shot and killed in downtown Kenosha by Kyle Rittenhouse during peaceful demonstrations against police violence that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Today, the family of Anthony Huber has filed a constitutional civil rights lawsuit in federal court against the City of Kenosha Police Department and Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department for their role in Rittenhouse’s deadly rampage that left the Hubers’ son Anthony dead.

Kenosha City and County Police took sides during the peaceful protest and deputized Kyle Rittenhouse and the other armed, pro-police militia members to patrol the streets and control demonstrators who were protesting police violence and racism. The lawsuit alleges that the police invited in Rittenhouse and other illegally armed individuals to patrol the streets with deadly weapons to mete out justice as they saw fit.

The lawsuit also lays out a detailed timeline of the events leading up to Rittenhouse’s shooting spree and its aftermath. Armed militia members posted racist and violent messages on social media and gave the Kenosha Chief of Police advance notice they were coming. Kenosha Police praised and encouraged the armed militia members when they arrived, allowed them to patrol the street with dangerous weapons, and made no effort to stop or disarm illegally armed individuals. Making matters worse, militia members were captured on video saying that the police planned to push the demonstrators toward armed militia members so that they could “deal with them.” Shortly afterward, Rittenhouse’s shooting spree began. When it ended, Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum were dead, and Gaige Grosskreutz had been shot and injured. Instead of arresting Rittenhouse, Kenosha Police allowed him to walk right past them and away from the scene of the crimes.

“After he had killed and maimed multiple individuals, Kyle Rittenhouse walked up to a dozen Kenosha police officers, assault rifle in hand, with crowds yelling that he had just killed innocent people. What did the police do? They spoke to him and let him walk away,” said Huber family attorney Anand Swaminathan. “Make no mistake: if Kyle Rittenhouse had been Black, or had been wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt, there is no way on God’s green earth he would have been allowed to walk away. More likely he would have been shot dead in the street.”

The lawsuit seeks to hold the City of Kenosha Police Department and the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department responsible for inviting armed militia members to patrol the streets, deputizing and conspiring with them to control peaceful civilians, and creating a dangerous and unsafe environment in which armed militia members took matters into their own hands, leading predictably to Rittenhouse’s deadly rampage.

“The police are supposed to serve and protect,” Anthony’s father, John Huber, said in a statement, “but that’s not what the Kenosha police did. They walked away from their duties and turned over the streets of Kenosha to Kyle Rittenhouse and other armed vigilantes. If they had done their job, my son would still be alive today.”

The lawsuit also alleges that the decision of Kenosha Police to treat demonstrators and militia members differently was motivated by racial discrimination and was in retaliation for protests critical of police violence. While Kenosha Police allowed armed militia members who were white and supported the police to roam the streets illegally with weapons, they controlled and strictly enforced a curfew against peaceful protestors, who were a diverse group speaking out against police violence. That discriminatory and retaliatory conduct violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of a right to free speech and peaceful assembly and to equal protection of the law.

“There is an ongoing criminal process to hold Kyle Rittenhouse accountable for his actions. But so far there has been zero accountability for the Kenosha Police who let Rittenhouse fire an assault weapon at peaceful civilians. That ends today.” said Steve Art, another one of the Huber family’s attorneys. “In Kenosha, Wisconsin, Kyle Rittenhouse was allowed to shoot three people in the street with an assault weapon and then walk away, while Jacob Blake was shot by police seven times in the back while he walked unarmed to a car in which two children were waiting. Kenosha authorities should be ashamed of themselves.”

Anthony Huber’s mother, Karen Bloom, said the lawsuit is about justice for her son, and his legacy. “After Anthony’s death, there will always be a hole in my heart. But his memory lives on, and I will never stop telling his story.” The Huber family is represented by Jon Loevy, Anand Swaminathan, Steven Art, Dan Twetten and Quinn Rallins, of the civil rights law firm Loevy & Loevy Attorneys at Law. Loevy & Loevy is one of the nation’s largest civil rights law firms.


By Karen Bloom & John Huber

[onecaliberal]

43. Good! Ruin that murderous bastard in every way possible.

Make his life a living hell.

[COL Mustard]

48. They Should Own The City Of Kenosha

Lock, stock and barrel. (I know that's a firearms analogy but I hope they own every police car, every firetruck, every piece of city property, etc...)....

[2Gingersnaps]

14. It should be against the Kenosha Police for abdicating their responsibility as well

as Kyle AND his Mom.

[Amishman]

28. I think WI has civil suit immunity after a self defense not guilty

So I do not believe they can sue KR.

I also do not believe they have any grounds for suing his mother, as the story that she transported him with the gun proved to be false.

Kenosha PD however is certainly on the table, and likely why that is the party in focus in the posted statement.

[DiamondShark]

45. Hmm, that's odd.

I thought I read his mom picked him up.

[greenjar_01]

3. Rest in Peace Anthony Huber, hero

Fuck the Kyle Rittenhouse Fan Club assholes forever.

[UCmeNdc]

4. The Judge caused this injustice.

[Lonestarblue]

6. Can this verdict be appealed because of judicial misconduct?

[Zeitghost]

12. No

That's called double jeopardy, one of the concepts that are the cornerstones of our legal system.

[Hav]

13. What was the misconduct that influenced the case or the jury? (n/t)

[Algernon Moncrieff]

26. The judge took several actions considered unusual

The main objection is that the judge would not allow the three that were shot by Rittenhouse as "victims" by the prosecution but would allow them to be referred to as "looters or rioters." It appears to show bias against those who had been shot. A truly neutral approach would have simply been to refer to them by name, or "the dead & injured."

[LiberalFighter]

34. I would considered the judge's action to be biased.

[Hav]

37. I know you didn't make the initial claim but that's far from misconduct though

I've seen an opinion from a court reporter who has years of experience following this court and Schroeder. The judge's actions seem to be totally consistent. He's puts much weight on preserving the defendant's rights and may appear tougher on the prosecution. But once the jury comes back with a conviction, his sentences tend to be rather hard.

The reasoning behind that victim-looter controversy was to not presuppose guilt of the defendant with the language used (while the victims weren't the defendants for whatever they might have done). Apparently, it's a standard he had followed consistently for a long time. The defense could also only refer to the shooting victims as looters and rioters if they could prove it which I believe wasn't the case for Huber and Grosskreutz.

I think that the names were used most of the time.

[634-5789]

9. AMEN!

[Tribetime]

20. Exactly

[momta]

5. I want to cry.

I also want to rage.

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE??????



On edit: I hope they sue the living daylights out of the Rittenthouse family and all of their enablers!

[blueinredohio]

7. Amen!

[leftieNanner]

8. Especially those rich folks who paid his bail

and probably funded his defense attorneys.

[Harker]

11. ...

[2Gingersnaps]

15. Their family has my complete sympathy.

My kids and grandkids attended BLM protests in here in Columbus, Ohio. And I am damn proud of them for it. There were reports on different nights of police over reaction. But we did not have the militia shit stirrers other towns saw. Luckily, it was peaceful when they attended, and when BLM walked past my house.

[maxsolomon]

16. I'm in solidarity with this statement.

The police allowed armed vigilantes to remain on the streets during a curfew. Encouraged it.

Huber felt he was defending his life and those around him. Why else would you "assault" a man armed with an MSSA?

[xmas74]

19. Enjoy your stay nt

[Tribetime]

23. Damn I didn't even get to ask him if he was talking about Matt gaetz

[xmas74]

24. He was too busy self fellating to respond anyway. Nt

[Decoy of Fenris]

21. Got a spicy one here. Anyone want to clean this one up? I've already got another alert out. n/t

[xmas74]

25. I got him in two spots.

He's gone.

[Decoy of Fenris]

27. Thank ya kindly. I think that's the first time I've seen one that fresh!

Granted, it's about as pleasant as a "Fresh" pile of dog shit, but it's still an experience.

[xmas74]

29. I've been here forever.

Once upon a time they'd let us dog pile before they tombstoned the idiots.
I joined many dog piles back in the day.

[Decoy of Fenris]

30. Ah, the ol' glory days.

I've been here under a few different IDs before, going all the way back to Bush, but I was never that active in posting (as evidenced by my 1k posts in 10 years. XD) Still, never really got the chance to see such a wave of trolls and disruptors. Its a bit like rubbernecking a car wreck; It's awful but you can't look away.

[xmas74]

31. I don't post like I used to

I was one of the old Lounge Lizards. Trolls used to go to the Lounge first to build a quick post count and then come to GD to start an inflammatory thread. We'd catch them in the Lounge and play with them.

[Decoy of Fenris]

32. Oh Gods, the old-school Loungers. I didn't set foot but I've heard tales.

Gods help the poor bastards who you guys caught. XD I can only imagine how fun that was.

[xmas74]

35. It was fabulous

Pre 2008 Lounge had quite the reputation

[Coventina]

51. I miss all those guys, MATCOM, GopIsEvil, et. al.

I didn't participate much, as I was very shy at the time, but it was really fun to just read and enjoy.

[xmas74]

52. MATCOM

used to leave posts for my daughter because she loved his hippo so much. She'd bang on the keyboard her reply. She was a toddler at the time.
She's a legal drinker now and finishing her degree.

[Coventina]

53. It's amazing how time goes by...I was a young adult when I joined DU

Now I'm firmly middle-aged.

Where does the time go?!?!?

[xmas74]

54. I was a new mom

When the 2000 election took place. 21 years since the election. Doesn't seem like it's been so long.

[RussBLib]

22. seems there is a serious problem with the police in Kenosha

they way they let Rittenhouse just walk away....

...and I had not heard about the references in the parents letter about the police encouraging the "militia". Woah, that would be the sign of a totally rotten police force.

Could be some legal action there.

[SergeStorms]

39. Oh, it's a totally rotten police force alright.

Full of white supremacist, racist, right-wing thugs.

Areas of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and other states are havens for these lawless cretins. You know, Trump's deplorables. They believe they represent the majority of Americans. Fucking idiots.

They're being driven back into the shadows, but very slowly. They've infiltrated almost every law enforcement organization in the U.S. They believe themselves to be invincible. So did Hitler. They'll be dealt with, but it's going to take awhile. They should be worried though, but they're not. They think they're untouchable. They're also excruciatingly stupid.

[keithbvadu2]

33. We can bet that he will never cry again about killing those people.

We can bet that he will never cry again about killing those people.

[SergeStorms]

40. He should be looking over his shoulders...

at all times though. This stupid little boy thinks he's invincible now, and his reich-wing allies will tell him that he is, just as they think they are.

Accountability will visit them all. It will take it's sweet-assed time, same as always. When they're least expecting it they'll get a tap on the shoulder, then a double tap to the head. Karma.

[marieo1]

36. Shameful

It is all shameful and disgusting. Sure gives me a different outlook on Wisconsin. Apparently, their legal system is very criminal. To let this man go free after murdering someone is the most disgusting thing I've ever known to happen. The judge needs to be held accountable.

[PatrickforB]

38. So, we have a bunch of heavily armed white supremacist militia, and the white supremacist

Kenosha police department purposely drove the protesters back into the militia so dirtbag scum like Rittenhouse could shoot them.

I won't be going to Wisconsin, buying anything from Wisconsin or doing anything else that might somehow benefit Wisconsin.

If they are that racist, then fuck them. And fuck that judge.

[BigmanPigman]

44. Ditto!

My grandfather was born there and I don't even like having that connection with that vile city and state. Boycott WI

Another state added to my ever-growing list of states I am boycotting.

[paleotn]

42. So much for Wisconsin....

Murder is perfectly legal there, depending on who you murder. Sounds like Mississippi Burning, Midwest chapter.

[The Jungle 1]

46. I hope he follows in Zimmerman's footsteps.

Let his life be a constant downward spiral. Filled with hate from society.

[Tanuki]

47. Kicking in solidarity with the families

[Coventina]

50. Thank you for posting this important message. n/t