'Untouchable super citizens': Will the Rittenhouse verdict fuel vigilantism - or a needed step toward more freedom

The reaction to the Rittenhouse verdict has been as polarizing as the trial itself: Right-wing groups celebrating, the NRA declaring victory, and liberal leaders decrying the decision as a harbinger of lawless vigilantism and domestic terrorism.

The Rittenhouse case became a flashpoint on many of the most divisive issues across the country: the right to bear arms, police brutality, racial injustice and the rise of right-wing militia groups. The teen became a hero in Republican corners and a symbol to the left of the rise of white nationalism and armed militia groups. 

Rittenhouse, 18, fatally shot two men and injured a third with an AR-15 styled rifle during often violent protests in the summer of 2020 following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse argued he feared for his life and had no choice but to open fire on the men, who were among those protesting. During the trial, prosecutors painted Rittenhouse as a teen vigilante, who wasn't old enough to purchase the rifle he was carrying. They said he incited the shootings and traveled to the city with other during the protests specifically looking for trouble.