Police permission for such armed rightwing vigilanteism goes beyond "nod and a wink." Rittenhouse was given a pat on the head by Kenosha cops, as if he was a good puppy. After slaughtering a room full of black Christians, officers took Hitler fan Dylan Roof to get a burger at Wendy's.

On the flip side, after a self-described devotee of ANTIFA shot a counter protesting Proud Boy on the streets of Portland, federal agents went to his house and gunned him down in his driveway.

There is no other explanation than that the culture of law enforcement condones racism and autocracy and deals with the public very differently according to their politics and skin color. The fact that the judge in the Rittenhouse trial disallowed charges that he was underage, purchased the weapon through a straw man, and toted it across state lines demonstrates that these same biases have permeated into the justice system.

There are certain nuances of Wisconsin law that made it virtually impossible to get a unanimous guilty verdict. But, as the author points out, a very dangerous precedent has been set here... And, it seems all too likely that others will see this decision as permission to gun down protestors with whom they disagree, achieve alt-right hero status, and walk away scott free by claiming self-defense.