vigilante killer
I'm going to take issue with this statement. I'm not defending Rittenhouse only because I don't know what he did (or didn't do) to instigate what we saw on video. There could have been something not on film that would make him culpable for what happened, and I don't if that is or is not the case, so will not pass judgement, and I ask that others also refrain from doing so.
I will say, however that what I saw on video looks like self-defense. Every one that was shot by Rittenhouse that night was shown on video chasing him at some point, one person armed with a pistol, another who took a swing at his head with a skateboard.
As for this cop (and some paramedic in Utah) donating to Rittenhouse's defense fund? I've seen lots discussion about this topic on the firearms forums, and many comments encourage donating to the defense of the kid simply to show support for the 2nd amendment. I would venture to guess that these folks are donating to support his legal efforts from a Pro2A and pro self defense stance. Not so much because they believe Rittenhouse did nothing wrong. I don't think they should be losing their jobs, or being harassed by the media for taking a political stand. That's not about trust, that's about "mob justice." Obey, or else!
Like many other cases, I find this one disturbing because people are so ready to jump to one conclusion or the other without waiting to learn all the facts. The most damaging part is that the conclusions people jump to are often aligned with hotly contested political point's of view. Usually this makes any productive discourse on the subject even more difficult.
I'll admit, I'm not completely innocent. When I look at Rittenhouse I see a snot-nosed punk with a mall-ninja complex who saw an opportunity to brandish his lethal "toy" and got way more than he bargained for, while others died. Let's just say if he was my kid he would have known better. But I'll try to keep perspective of my judgements; they are solely a result of my convictions, my presumptions, and my biases.