Should Kyle Rittenhouse file defamation lawsuits against the media corporations and politicians who have allegedly defamed him by calling him a white supremacist and repeated outright lies about his case?
Support for Rittenhouse to do just that erupted Friday after he was found not guilty on all five criminal charges against him.
In the wake of the verdict, prominent politicians continue to call Rittenhouse a white supremacist.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), for example, not only called Rittenhouse a white supremacist, but alleged the entire trial was “white supremacy in action.”
“The judge. The jury. The defendant. It’s white supremacy in action. This system isn’t built to hold white supremacists accountable,” Bush reacted to the verdict. “It’s why Black and brown folks are brutalized and put in cages while white supremacist murderers walk free. I’m hurt. I’m angry. I’m heartbroken.’
The judge. The jury. The defendant.
It’s white supremacy in action.
This system isn’t built to hold white supremacists accountable. It’s why Black and brown folks are brutalized and put in cages while white supremacist murderers walk free.
I’m hurt. I’m angry. I’m heartbroken.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) November 19, 2021
Countless examples exist of prominent Democrats, media members, and other figureheads with platforms making similar comments. President Joe Biden, when he was a candidate, also lumped Rittenhouse into white supremacy without evidence to support such a claim.
Blaze Media’s Glenn Beck said he wants to donate money to Rittenhouse’s legal fund, so that he can “sue the CRAP out of corporate media.”
“I’d give money…for his offense, to now go on the offense and sue the crap out of corporate media for what they’ve done. They lied about him the whole time. They’ve destroyed his life,” Beck said. “It is time to say, ‘enough is enough’ with the corporate media.”
Fox News host Sean Hannity agreed.
“Kyle Rittenhouse should sue them all, all of them,” Hannity said on his Friday show. “Starting with Joe Biden.”
Conservative commentator Matt Walsh said, “I hope Rittenhouse bankrupts all of you dirtbags in media who smeared him as a white supremacist. I hope he ruins your life. I want you to suffer. It’s what you deserve. It’s justice.”
I hope Rittenhouse bankrupts all of you dirtbags in media who smeared him as a white supremacist. I hope he ruins your life. I want you to suffer. It’s what you deserve. It’s justice.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) November 19, 2021
Ann Coulter said, “Biden has no immunity for calling Rittenhouse a ‘white supremacist’ when he was a private citizen running for president. Rittenhouse has got to sue Biden.”
Conservative commentator and author Candace Owens advised Rittenhouse to sue ‘EVERY LAST ONE’ of them.
SUE THEM ALL, KYLE.
EVERY LAST ONE. #KyleRittenhouse #NotGuilty pic.twitter.com/j7EUcfscUs— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) November 19, 2021
Meanwhile, Nick Sandmann — who settled lawsuits against the Washington Post and CNN for undisclosed amounts of money — told Fox News on Friday that he would sue the media and others if he were in Rittenhouse’s shoes, but said the decision to pursue litigation is ultimately up to Rittenhouse.
Lawyer Todd McMurtry, who helped Sandmann settle his defamation lawsuits, said that Biden’s tweet involving Rittenhouse could potentially be “actionable.”
“What you take from that tweet is that Kyle Rittenhouse was using his rifle and engaging in white supremacist misconduct, so it’s actionable,” McMurtry told Fox News. “Not necessarily going to win, but it’s actionable.”
While it may be “actionable,” other legal experts told the Daily Caller that winning a defamation case would prove difficult for Rittenhouse.
“In defamation cases, different standards apply whether you are considered to be a public figure or a private figure,” said Zack Smith, a legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation. “If you’re considered to be a public figure, you have to show that the media outlet or the individual making or repeating the factual statement about you did so with actual malice or reckless disregard. That actual malice standard is very difficult to overcome.”
Meanwhile, Lincoln Bandlow, a First Amendment lawyer, explained the phrase “white supremacist” is rather ambiguous, making it difficult to prove defamation.
“The argument would be no one even knows what that means anymore because it’s so ridiculous, so it wouldn’t be an objective provable statement of fact in any way, so it would be a protected opinion,” Bandlow said. “Defamation only applies to false factual statements. Someone can’t be sued for making, stating an opinion, their opinion about someone.”
This is an excerpt from TheBlaze.
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