Thread by @AmySwearer

How are we still playing this game? First, I reject that premise that Rittenhouse "instigated contact" because the video evidence shows him actively running away while being chased, while the contextual evidence is that *no one* should have been there under those circumstances 1/

https://twitter.com/tariqnasheed/status/1462842156498894849

But let's do this. Right in the thread of dozens of cases is that of Tony Bristol, who killed one unarmed man and nearly killed a second, with a gun he indisputably could not legally possess as a felon but brought his night club security job. clarksvillenow.com/local/verdict-… 2/

Bristol claimed the two men confronted him over an ongoing dispute, he tried to leave, and they engaged him. He claimed he believed they were armed and he reasonably feared imminent danger. 3/

The state argued [eerily similar to the Rittenhouse case] that Bristol "intentionally armed himself with a gun" he brought to work but only put on his person right before the shooting, fired multiple rounds at both men, and that the men weren't really threatening him at all. 4/

Additionally, it looks like Bristol shot one of them in the back as he was walking away, 11 seconds after the initial confrontation. Weirdly enough, there is apparently 30 seconds of video showing most of the confrontation. The families of the men he shot are livid re: verdict.5/

Let's nip the next argument in the bud - yes, Bristol still later pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, while Rittenhouse had his gun charge dropped. But that's because of substantial and fundamental differences in the facts and the alleged offense. 6/

The rest of the thread was severed unintentionally but here it is:

https://twitter.com/AmySwearer/status/1462852479461335041?t=AfHMTErjzFNH-q33pWf6cw&s=19