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Head of NAACP Claims Rittenhouse Verdict Was 'Worse Than Emmett Till Trial'

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  November 21, 2021 8:00 AM

The "not guilty" verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial has really brought out the worst in the already unhinged left. We keep saying it, because it keeps on happening. On Friday night, during "The Last World with Lawrence O'Donnell," fill-in host Zerlina Maxwell discussed the verdict with Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP. During the show, Johnson claimed the verdict was "worse than the Emmett Till trial."

"This was worst than the Emmitt till trial. This was worse than so many trials where we know for a fact individuals committed murder and yet they were not brought to justice. It is unfortunate, but this is America," he said claimed.

Johnson went on to list off a whole slew of falsehoods, with no pushback from Maxwell, to claim that a federal crime had been committed.

And oh, it's Trump's fault:

This is the legacy of the Trump administration. It is about the otherness and emboldens so many people, whether it's in Charlottesville or the synagogue in Pittsburgh, or in, in this case where people feel like it is okay to display their white supremacist behavior in the public square. 

Unfortunately, for the families of the victims of this murder, here's a 17-year-old who came across state lines with a firearm that he purchased illegally, driven by his mother to a community that did not invite him, allegedly protecting property that was not his property, and to support law enforcement officers who didn't need support. 

And so there is no logical reason for him to be there. The fact that this judge dismissed the armed charges, which shouldn't have been dismissed. The real question was a federal crime committed? Should the Biden administration bring federal charges in this case? Do we have a U.S. Attorney that's been appointed in this jurisdiction so we can look at whether or not this young man should be charged? You and I both know had this person been African-American or Latino, he would be behind bars tonight. And unfortunately, unfortunately the families of the victims will not receive justice.

Rittenhouse, was, in fact, 17 at the time, but that's about all that Johnson got correct. His mother did not drive him across state lines, he drove himself, and he did not have the weapon with him. The weapon was stored at the house of his friend's stepfather. It was purchased by 18-year old Dominick Black, with money Rittenhouse gave to him. 

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Such falsehoods were repeated by Democratic figures, including Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, who should really know better, and who used the falsehood to claim it "justifies review by DOJ."

It's worth reminding that what happened to Till, a 14-year old who supposedly flirted with a white woman when he came to visit Mississippi from Chicago, in 1955. Days later, her husband and his half-brother hunted him down where he was staying with his uncle, kidnapped him, mutilated his body, shot him in the head, and dumped him in the river. His mother insisted on an open casket so that the world would know what happened to her son.

His killers, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, went on trial in a segregated courthouse, where the jurors deliberated for less than an hour before finding the defendants "not guilty." 

One more way in which the Rittenhouse trial is much different and not "worse," is that the jurors deliberated for about 23 hours. An article by Adam Rogan published in Kenosha News noted in the headline that "It's already outlasted some high-profile cases."

Johnson will also on CBS' "Face the Nation" later today.