Protesters stormed Wisconsin’s Kenosha County Administration Building on Tuesday night after the district attorney’s decision not to charge any of the officers involved in the Jacob Blake shooting in August, according to a report.
“Seven shots in the back! No, that’s not right!” some of the 60 or so protesters shouted outside the building, Kenosha News reported.
National Guard troops stayed close to the court after Governor Tony Evers ordered them to be sent in anticipation of possible violence.
“Does this look like a violent meeting to you?” a protester called members of the Guard through a megaphone. “Because you all look very stupid now.”
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Activists show support for Jacob Blake Jr. during a vigil near the Kenosha County courthouse on January 4, 2021, in Kenosha, Wisconsin (Getty Images)”/>
Activists show support for Jacob Blake Jr. during a vigil near the Kenosha County courthouse on January 4, 2021, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Getty Images)
There were no reports of violence or vandalism until 9 pm CT, Kenosha News reported.
Prosecutor Michael Graveley said Tuesday afternoon that Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey, who allegedly shot Blake seven times during a domestic disturbance call on August 23, had a good case for self-defense. Blake was paralyzed from the waist down.
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The shooting at Blake led to protests two nights later, for which Illinois resident Kyle Rittenhouse, now 18, faces charges in connection with the shooting of two men and the wounding of a third. Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.
This Friday, September 4, 2020 image from the Kenosha County Courthouse video, Jacob Blake answers questions during a hearing in Kenosha, Wisconsin (Associated Press)
Meanwhile, the Kenosha City Council voted 9-7 on Monday to increase the fine for inciting violence from $ 124 to $ 1,321. The council also unanimously approved an emergency statement in anticipation of protests over the district attorney’s decision.
“Everyone saw the video,” Graveley said of the cell phone video of the Blake shooting that went viral and sparked subsequent protests. “From their point of view, they tried this case from the computer screen in their living room. As a professional, I am called on to know how to try this case in a real court.”
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“If you do not believe that you can prove a case beyond reasonable doubt, you have an ethical obligation not to issue charges,” he added at the news conference.
This undated archive photo provided by the Wisconsin Department of Justice shows Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey. (Associated Press)
Graveley said Blake, 29, was armed with a knife that was not visible in the video and admitted to having one during the incident. Statements that he was unarmed contradict what Blake, who had an arrest warrant for him at the time of the crime, told authorities, Graveley said.
A woman called 911 on August 23, saying that Blake refused to return the keys to a rental car. Video footage of the incident captured Blake moving away from the police officer and around a vehicle with his children inside, so he was shot seven times.
Four bullets hit Blake in the back and three hit his left side, Graveley said.
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At one point, the cops tried to use a stun gun to stop Blake. Sheskey told investigators that he opened fire because he feared Blake was trying to hurt the children inside the vehicle.
Louis Casiano of Fox News contributed to this report.