Blogger Frank “Drew” Hernandez took the stand Thursday during the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse and claimed the defendant tried to “de-escalate the situation” during the unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Rittenhouse has been charged with homicide in the deaths of two men he shot during protests in Kenosha in August of 2020: Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber. He also shot and wounded a third man, Gaige Grosskreutz.
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Hernandez said, “rioters initiated that conflict” on the night of August 25 in Kenosha and had agitated “individuals with long-arm rifles” on top of a building. He said they were screaming at the rifle-holders, “You ain’t the police, you ain’t the police.”
He then claimed that Rittenhouse “attempted to de-escalate the situation” and was “successful because the rioters then dispersed.”
Rittenhouse’s defense attorney, Corey Chirafisi, asked Hernandez: “Did you see Mr. Rosenbaum do anything that kind of drew your attention?”
“Absolutely. He led the charge into the gas station. He was getting physically aggressive,” Hernandez replied. “He appeared to be attempting to start a physical altercation with people in the gas station to the point where he was telling one of the individuals with a rifle, ‘Shoot me, n-word, shoot me’…clearly attempting to start a physical altercation.”
A self-described “professional commentator” who works for Real America’s Voice, Hernandez—a witness for the defense—repeatedly called protesters “rioters” and referred to them as being members of “Antifa” or Black Lives Matter.
Some social media users called such language politically charged, especially considering Judge Bruce Schroeder banned the use of the word “victims” in describing those who had been shot by Rittenhouse.
“This witness is saying ‘riot’ constantly and ‘antifa,'” tweeted MSNBC commentator and former New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley. “This is ideology that the judge has enabled to be used in the #Rittenhouse trial.”
This witness is saying “riot” constantly and “antifa.” This is ideology that the judge has enabled to be used in the #Rittenhouse trial. Looking to see how defense crosses.
— Maya Wiley (@mayawiley) November 11, 2021
This is a developing story and will be updated once more information is available.
