Protesters In Chicago Denounce Justice System After Rittenhouse Acquittal
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Hundreds of protesters shut down streets in downtown Chicago Saturday in opposition to the Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal.
The protest, which started in Federal Plaza, lasted 2.5 hours and remained peaceful. Demonstrators had multiple messages echoing through downtown on a busy day.
The protest snaked through major arteries downtown, even stopping traffic on Michigan Avenue for some time. People from holiday celebrations even joined in or looked on. It was a movement, as protesters called into question the country's criminal justice system.
They held signs denouncing white supremacy. There were also chants in oppsition to police. What seems to be a common theme is many expected Rittenhouse to be acquitted of all charges, and that's where they say the problem lies, calling out what some say is a double standard.
"It's like the system was going toward letting this man off. If he had got off on a fair trial. I just felt like the trial was unfair," said protester Nick Thompson.
"Black and Brown people need to rise up and start organizing for our liberation and to not be afraid of folks like Kyle Rittenhouse," said protest organizer Jazmine Salas. "That we know the moral arc is long, but it vents toward justice. So we've got to be out here in the streets. We've got to be out here making demands for real, systemic policy change."
Also in the crowd was Reverend Jesse Jackson, who led the march for a moment. He plans to lead another one Sunday in Kenosha.
Earlier in the day Jackson called Kyle Rittenhouses' acquittal "a miscarriage of justice. He had a somber predition for Rittenhouse's future.
"The world will be his prison," he said. "Everywhere he goes people will say, 'That's the guy who killed two people.' He'll have this burden on his conscience for a long time."
Jackson also criticized Rittenhouse, who is from Antioch, for going across state lines that fateful night.
