Virginia Kruta: Bringing a Gun To a “Fist Fight”

Written by Virginia Kruta, columnist at the Daily Wire

The jurors have been released to deliberate over the fate of Illinois teenager Kyle Rittenhouse, and while any decision is likely to spark anger from one side or the other, my main concern is over the closing argument presented by the prosecution.

As they wrapped up what has been – by many accounts – a politically-motivated character assassination, the prosecution suggested that Rittenhouse had “brought a gun to a fist fight” and had only done so because he was “too cowardly” to defend himself with his fists. “Everybody takes a beating now and then,” they said.

“He brought a gun to a fist fight and he was too cowardly to use his own fists to fight his way out” pic.twitter.com/E6xU78vlJe
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 15, 2021

Really? A fist fight?

Kyle Rittenhouse did not bring a gun to a fist fight. He brought a gun to a riot – and not just any riot. He brought a gun to a riot where businesses and private properties were being torched while law enforcement was either unable or unwilling to step in and stop it. He brought a gun to a riot where he knew he would be a target for defending people and property against the onslaught of rioters and looters who had already destroyed businesses and property the night before. He brought a gun to a riot where grown adults kicked him, beat him about the head with a skateboard, and approached him with a gun aimed at his head.

And while you could certainly discuss whether or not the series of decisions that ultimately put him in the middle of that riot in Kenosha was the wisest choice he could have made, it is an objective truth that Rittenhouse did not bring a gun to a fist fight. Because if that’s what qualifies as a “fist fight,” I’d have brought a gun too.