The mother of Tamir Rice, who was fatally shot for possessing a toy gun, is expressing her dissatisfaction with the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict. During a recent interview with TMZ, Samaria Rice claimed that the jury’s acquittal of Rittenhouse on all counts is “just not right.”
“I’m very annoyed about how a minor, a white little boy, is not in jail for the murder of other people, and that’s just not right. That’s not right. And his mother should go to jail, too,” she said.
“Because why would you give him a gun if he’s a minor? That’s just not how you’re supposed to raise your children in this country.
“You’re not supposed to just give him a gun to go to a protest, right? So you knew he was going to a protest—what did you think he was going to do?” Rice continued, rejecting Rittenhouse’s claim that he attended the protest to help private businesses and local police.
“I’m really confused, but I also understand that it was designed this way and, at this point, we are at the mercy of God. … At the end of the day, this country needs to be overthrown,” she said. She also mentioned the jury’s “pitiful” decision to let Rittenhouse select the jurors in his trial.
As REVOLT previously reported, Rittenhouse was found not guilty in all counts to his the fatal shootings of two people and the wounding of a third at a Jacob Blake protest last summer. The jury agreed with his claim that he acted in self-defense, prompting reactions from frustrated social media users, who highlighted the contrasting response to Rice, who was shot and killed for playing with a toy gun, and mentioned that his killer, former Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann, was not charged for the 2014 shooting.