Kyle Rittenhouse and a New Era of Political Violence

What brought the teenager and so many other to Kenosha, Wis. equipped for war?

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story October 29, 2021 It began with the video of a white police officer shooting a Black man named Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., a small lakefront manufacturing city, on Aug. 23, 2020. Over the following nights, Kenoshans found themselves inside a compressed version of the national experience since the killing of George Floyd three months earlier. A demonstration at the site of the shooting grew larger and angrier and gave way to smashed police cruisers; an officer was knocked unconscious with a brick. Within hours, officers in riot gear were firing rubber bullets and pepper balls beneath a pall of smoke from torched municipal trucks, and black-masked arsonists were setting fire to public buildings. Footage of the demonstrations ran in fiery loops on Fox News and Newsmax. It fueled rumors and conspiracy theories, outraged monologues on talk radio and conversations within the White House, which themselves spilled back onto Fox News. It ricocheted around the online platforms themselves, among people who, by the third day, Aug. 25, were convinced they had to do something. One of those people was Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, who after joining several other young men in the defense of a car dealership would shoot three men, killing two and wounding the third. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT In our cover story this week, Charles Homans unpacks how a new era of political violence arrived on the streets of Kenosha. David Goldman/Associated Press Kyle Rittenhouse and the New Era of Political Violence What brought the teenager and so many others to the streets of Kenosha, Wis., equipped for war? By Charles Homans MORE FROM THE MAGAZINE Diego Ibarra Sánchez for The New York Times How Corruption Ruined Lebanon The deadly port blast, the triple-digit inflation, the energy shortages — Lebanon's many crises have a shared root: misrule by a self-dealing elite. By Rania Abouzeid Chris Maggio for The New York Times I Fell in Love With Motorcycles. But Could I Ever Love Sturgis? A New Yorker who started riding during the pandemic travels to the heart of biker culture. By Jamie Lauren Keiles A Times event: As world leaders gather in Glasgow for consequential climate change negotiations, join us at The New York Times Climate Hub to uncover answers to one of the most urgent questions of our time: How do we adapt and thrive on a changing planet? Glasgow, Scotland, November 3–11; in person and online. Get tickets at nytclimatehub.com. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Stay in touch: Follow us on Twitter (@NYTmag) or check us out on Instagram. Appreciated this email? Forward it to a friend and help us grow. Loved a story? Hated it? Write us a letter at magazine@nytimes.com. Did a friend forward this to you? Sign up here to get the magazine newsletter. Listen to narrated versions of our articles every week. Download Audm for iPhone or Android. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for The New York Times Magazine from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018