LIE: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) claimed that Rittenhouse ‘executed two people.’
TRUTH: The prosecution only charged Rittenhouse with one count of first-degree intentional homicide, for which the jury found him ‘not guilty.’
LIE: Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) tweeted that Rittenhouse is a ‘white supremacist domestic terrorist.’ Then-candidate Biden also suggested that the teen was a white supremacist.
TRUTH: The Anti-Defamation League reportedly determined that there were no connections to extremist movements on Rittenhouse’s social media.
LIE: The Intercept referred to the teen as one of several apparent ‘white supremacist defendants’ in an article exploring the ‘explosive rise of organized white supremacist extremism in the last decade’
TRUTH: The phrases ‘white supremacist,’ ‘extremist,’ ‘racist’ or ‘domestic terrorist’ were not uttered once in the prosecutions’ closing argument.
LIE: Politifact reported that it was illegal for Rittenhouse, as a 17-year-old, to carry the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 used in the shootings.
TRUTH: It was not illegal for Rittenhouse to possess the rifle under state law, as the barrel was over 12 inches long.
LIE: MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said Rittenhouse’s mother drove him ‘across state lines’ as riots erupted in Kenosha.
TRUTH: Rittenhouse testified that he went to Kenosha with his sister and friends.
LIE: ‘The View’s’ Joy Behar claimed Rittenhouse illegally crossed state lines, from Illinois to Wisconsin, with a firearm.
TRUTH: Dominick Black, Rittenhouse’s friend, testified that he stored the weapon used in the incident in his Kenosha home. An Illinois county probe determined Rittenhouse did not travel across state borders with a gun.
LIE: Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) alleged the Kenosha killings were part of a plot to spark a ‘race war’
TRUTH: This allegation was never backed up reporting or brought up by the prosecution in the course of the trial