Photos: Second Night of Peace in Kenosha Following Rittenhouse Verdict

KENOSHA, Wisconsin — For the second night in a row, Kenosha is breathing a sigh of relief following Friday’s verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. The verdict left some residents on edge, worried that the riots and violence the city experienced last year would not return.

So far, the predicted demonstrations and violence have not materialized while a sense of calm remained near the courthouse where the verdict was delivered.

Clyde McLemore confronts a Kyle Rittenhouse supporter outside the courthouse in Kenosha, WI, shortly after the jury delivered a not guilty verdict. (Photo: Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)

Immediately following the reading of the verdict, citizens expressed their opinions on the steps of the Kenosha County Courthouse, Breitbart Texas reported. At times, the exchange of opinions became tense, and tempers flared. Although the interactions were mostly peaceful, many feared the verdict would eventually lead to a repeat of the violence the city experienced in 2020.

Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office deputies keep the peace on the courthouse steps following the Rittenhouse verdict on Friday. (Photo: Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)

Despite the rising tensions immediately following the verdict in the Rittenhouse trial, they did not lead, thus far, to a repeat of last year’s violence. Preparations for larger demonstrations and riots in the downtown area were evident as some residents and business owners boarded up homes and storefronts.

A protester in Kenosha carries an anti-Rittenhouse sign outside the courthouse. (Photo: Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)

Breitbart Texas spoke to one local businesswoman who operates a store just blocks from the scene of last year’s demonstrations and riots. Susan, who did not wish to provide her last name, says she witnessed hundreds of vehicles enter Kenosha on the night of the riots.

“There were at least two hundred vehicles with blacked-out license plates. I knew there was going to be trouble,” she recalled. Susan says the rioters were not from Kenosha.

“We love our city, it’s peaceful here, the destruction they caused was something we wouldn’t do to ourselves,” she added. She says she is still on edge but is hopeful that the peace lasts. The damage done on that night is something she says the residents don’t want to relive.

A senior living center in Kenosha boarded up in anticipation of street violence following the delivery of the Rittenhouse verdict. (Photo: Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)

Several businesses in the downtown area of Kenosha were boarded up and painted with messages to would-be rioters. Messages were painted on boarded-up windows and doors expressing hopes of peace. At one nursing home near the scene of last year’s riots, messages were painted on boarded-up windows advising protestors that elderly residents were located inside the building.

A Kenosha police officer remains vigilant amid the second night of calm following the Rittenhouse verdict. (Photo: Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)

Although most residents remain hopeful, law enforcement authorities remain on guard. Several officers Breitbart Texas spoke to say additional law enforcement resources are still on standby should the situation change.

Outside Kenosha, demonstrations and protests materialized across the country in the wake of the verdict. Rioters demonstrated in Oregon and New York after the verdict was reached. As reported by Breitbart Texas, demonstrations in nearby Chicago on Saturday saw hundreds gather in Federal Plaza expressing their anger at the verdict.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 20: Activists march through downtown protesting the verdict in Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial on November 20, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. Rittenhouse, an Illinois teenager, was was found not guilty of all charges in the fatal shootings of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and for shooting and wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake in August 2020. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

For now, at least, residents of Kenosha are breathing a sigh of relief hoping that that the calm holds.

Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol.  Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.