Far-right supporters of Kyle Rittenhouse are threatening and doxxing a man they incorrectly believe is a juror for Rittenhouse's trial.
On Monday, the jury held closing arguments on the case, has deliberated for the last two days, and is expected to deliberate for a full day Thursday.
Concurrently, a rumor spread among Rittenhouse's supporters that a juror had mistakenly identified themselves. The far-right pointed to screenshots of an Instagram post and Facebook comments they believe prove the man, who has not been identified, is on the jury.
An Instagram post dated November 1 is a photo of news trucks captioned, "Big f**king day for this guy. Screenshots taken from Facebook include comments saying that the man "sat across a table from Rittenhouse … looking him in the face."
In an interview with The Daily Dot, the man said that someone posed as a juror on 4chan and fooled people into thinking they were him by pasting his replies to people who'd harassed him.
Referring to Anthony Huber, who was killed as Rittenhouse fled the scene of where he'd shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, the man described how he found himself at the center of these doxxing attempts:
"From what I gather, the person who posed as a juror claimed to be friends with Anthony Huber, and I found comments on other sites stating that Huber and I were friends. I had never met Huber."
"Also, this person posing as a juror copy/pasted comments that I had made to people harassing me, making it appear as though I was the person who had posted the thread on 4chan."
The man confirmed that his original Instagram post was legitimate and confirmed that was in the pool of potential jurors, but that he wasn't selected as a juror or an alternate.
Nevertheless, falsehoods about this man's involvement spread across Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram, and members of the far-right have called for the man to be jailed. They have since found his name, phone number, and email address, and sent him death threats.
One message the man received, which includes homophobic and racist slurs and claims that the judge overseeing the trial has been informed of his conduct, reads in part:
"You better step down peacefully or you'll be taken out. Kill yourself bitch."
News of the man's plight prompted social media users to react with a mix of sympathy for him and disgust for Rittenhouse's supporters.
That's not the only problem https://t.co/KfcG9f9IlD
— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley) November 16, 2021
Reality is it a quality often found that far right; extreme psychological projection appears all too common among the eat the babies zealots.
— Observer (@TheTweetsTimes) November 16, 2021
The point is for the actual jurors to hear about these threats to intimidate them
— MisterZofter (@Zoftwarz) November 16, 2021
All the best people. https://t.co/bVdOsAMHnY
— Kaz Weida (@kazweida) November 16, 2021
Quelle Dafuq?
Isn't trying to intimidate jurors against the law? https://t.co/7fJdrYtbeo
— Baba NostraAdeptus (@brill_inst) November 15, 2021
Surely jury tampering is illegal? https://t.co/0DIudy8dSK
— Carolyn Fully Vaxxed (@cstampeen) November 16, 2021
Crazy motherfuckers. https://t.co/RAH9uOi1zM
— Manda (#FindJubi) Posthumously🦾🥦🏳️🌈 (@ShutUpAmanda) November 16, 2021
Ironic coming from people who always use the term “woke mob" https://t.co/MFOsrvbhbf
— Adam - Future Birthday Boy 🥳 (@jetdownsouth) November 16, 2021
Deplorable. https://t.co/kbVqiCiFN6
— Lafler Accof (@AccofLafler) November 16, 2021
This entire trial is beyond a circus and mockery of our judicial system. Photo ops, choreographed emotional breakdowns, a crooked judge. It's a theatre of the absurd.
— Jestamoe (@Jesstamoe) November 16, 2021
Rittenhouse is represented by high-profile legal and fundraising teams who have played down his actions during the Kenosha unrest, which took place after police officers shot and partially paralyzed Jacob Blake, a Black man.
Rittenhouse faces multiple criminal counts, including first-degree intentional homicide and attempted homicide.
Bruce Schroder, the judge overseeing the trial, has generated several controversies of his own that have thrown his ability to be impartial in doubt.
Schroeder has faced accusations of bias in the Rittenhouse trial for sparring with prosecutors and providing commentary, behavior that has raised concerns from legal observers who have suggested it could be used by appelate attorneys as evidence that Schroeder is making a mistake.
He also made headlines before the trial began for directing that the word "victims" not be used before the jury to refer to those killed or injured by Rittenhouse.