VICE claims Rittenhouse verdict will lead to increase in 'white supremacy'

At the nation awaits the verdict of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, Vice published an article on Thursday stating that no matter what the outcome of the trial is, "extreme-right wing groups will exploit it to try and recruit."

In an article titled: "Whatever Kyle Rittenhouse's Verdict Is, the Far-Right Wins," they argue that no matter the verdict, Rittenhouse either becomes a martyr for the far-right, or a case of "justified" action against "leftist protestors," with Rittenhouse's trial being used as a recruitment point.

“Many extreme right-wing and white supremacist groups and propagandists view the trial as an opportunity to spread their message and recruit,” Joshua Fisher-Birch, a research analyst with the Counter-Extremism Project, told Vice. “These groups and individuals are acting on an agenda to portray Rittenhouse as both a hero and a victim who justly defended himself. Many of these groups seek to similarly portray acts of violence committed by their members as defensive in nature.”

The outlet states Rittenhouse has been dubbed a "brother" to "neo-Nazis," with one post on an "extreme-right Telegram channel" stating: "Although it was an act of self-defense, it was the first deadly act of retaliation since the riots of 2020 began. Additionally, his actions accelerated the system breakdown, intensified racial conflict and political divide."

Vice argues that if Rittenhouse is found not guilty, "killing leftist protesters" is seen as a "justified" action, "which they can rally around and try to agitate for similar violence."

"If he's found guilty, they have a martyr and, as Fisher Birch puts it, 'this could be used to further call for violence against the left and to claim that the U.S. government does not protect white people,'" wrote Vice.

"No matter what the verdict is, extreme-right wing groups will exploit it to try and recruit, either portraying Rittenhouse as having rightfully used force or using narratives leveraging white victimhood," said Fisher-Birch.

"The trial itself is seen as a well-publicized event with the potential to further anger a segment of the population, which will present future opportunities for violence, allowing accelerationists (those on the far-right wanting to hasten the downfall of modern society to create a white ethnostate) to continue promoting society's breakdown," he continued.

Vice wrote that in one Telegram channel associated with accelerations, when they saw another more mainstream channel talking about Rittenhouse and "righteous violence," the followers of that channel were instructed to "join his channel now that his subscribers are primed."

"Rittenhouse trial has been a terrific radicalization event," the person wrote. "If he's acquitted, we win, and if he's convicted, we win."