SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 BY BARRY DUKE
AFTER teenager Kyle Rittenhouse, above, was charged with two homicides and one attempted homicide in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo found itself in the centre of an escalating row which included supportive comments by Trump and a petition by a Christian organisation – Faithful America – to have the fundraiser scrapped.
Faithful America’s petition says:
Kyle Rittenhouse picked up his AR-15, crossed state lines, and visited Kenosha, WI – where he promptly shot three Black Lives Matter protesters, murdering two of them.
That’s not self-defense: It’s hunting.
Crowdfunding websites GoFundMe and Fundly have deleted all pages raising money for Rittenhouse, but GiveSendGo, ‘the leader in Christian fundraising’ is refusing to delete the vigilante’s fundraisers.
GiveSendGo was created to help churches and mission trips ‘inspire God’s Message to the world’.
The company likes to say, ‘The most valuable currency is God’s love.’ There is nothing inspiring, loving, or Christian about attempting to justify murder, especially murders that further the cause (intentionally or not) of white-supremacy.
Meanwhile, seeking to make political out of the shooting, Trump suggested that teen was trying to defend himself.
I guess he was in very big trouble. He would have been, he probably would have been killed. But it’s under – it’s under investigation.
Faithful America’s petition, which has attracted more than 13,000 signatures, has not closed down the Rittenhouse appeal. However, the backlash appears to have had an effect. GiveSendGo says on it site that:
The payment processor that was being used for this campaign shut down our ability to fundraise, but GiveSendGo was able to find another payment solution to keep the campaign going!
It’s has so far raised more than $320,000 for Rittenhouse. The fundraiser says:
Kyle Rittenhouse just defended himself from a brutal attack by multiple members of the far-leftist group ANTIFA – the experience was undoubtedly a brutal one, as he was forced to take two lives to defend his own.
Now, Kyle is being unfairly charged with murder 1, by a DA who seems determined only to capitalize on the political angle of the situation. The situation was clearly self-defense, and Kyle and his family will undoubtedly need money to pay for the legal fees.
Let’s give back to someone who bravely tried to defend his community.
Rittenhouse’s attorney John Pierce, in an interview with USA Today, called the case against the 17-year-old:
The most political prosecution in the history of this country.
Pierce said his client went to Kenosha after a local business owner there called for help in protecting properties, including a car lot and body shop, that the owner believed was threatened by the unrest. The attorney said he did not know who fielded the initial request, but he said Rittenhouse and other associates responded to the call.
He answered the call; he took his rifle because it was a war zone.
His two victims have been identified as Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber.
Rittenhouse’s defence team released a statement last Friday saying that what the 17-year-old did is a clear-cut case of self defence. In a written statement, they said:
A 17-year-old child should not have to take up arms in America to protect life and property. Kyle is not a racist or a white supremacist. He is a brave, patriotic, compassionate law-abiding American who loves his country and his community. He did nothing wrong.
According to this report, Jacob Wells, co-founder of GiveSendGo, insisted that:
As a platform, everything we do and what our platform delivers is Christ-centered.
Wells said his outfit can’t judge Rittenhouse’s motives:
We said, listen, we’re not the judge and the jury, God is. And we’re going to leave it up to him in that.