A Texas police department recently defended itself against the online "hate" it received for posting a photo of one of its officers beaming beside Kyle Rittenhouse.
The photo, posted to Facebook last week by the Thrall Police Department (TPD), has garnered 13,000 likes and hundreds of critical comments slamming the "disgusting" post.
About Kyle Rittenhouse
In August 2020, then 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse traveled from his home near Antioch, Illinois, to attend a protest that erupted in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after a Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot and injured by a white police officer. While at the protest, Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and injured Gaige Grosskreutz.
He was arrested the following day and eventually charged with first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of reckless endangerment. But in November 2021, after four days of jury deliberations, Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges.
In an appearance on You Are Here, a podcast hosted by the conservative media outlet BlazeTV, Rittenhouse said traveling to Kenosha probably wasn't the "best idea."
"Hindsight being 20/20, probably not the best idea to go down there," he said. "Can't change that. But I defended myself and that's what happened."
'Welcome to Texas'
Despite being acquitted of all charges, not everyone is a fan of Rittenhouse's. However, one Texas police officer was happy to meet the teenager last week.
"Make those stops, you never know who you might meet. Today it was Kyle Rittenhouse, welcome to Texas," TPD wrote in its now-viral Facebook post.
Rittenhouse announced in June that he would be attending the Blinn College District, a Texas community college.
Hundreds of Facebook commenters slammed TPD for its "disgusting" post, calling it a "joke."
"This is disgusting," Tanya Muller wrote.
"Disgusting. Our tax dollars are going to you to post this stuff on social media!?" Michael Smith asked.
"What a joke of a police department," Nai Roberts said.
Kari Ashpaugh commented: "Sick [that] you are making him out as a hero. Shame on your officer and this department."
Melinda Kirsten added: "Another reason to stay the f**k out of Texas!!"
TPD's Response
In response to all the "hate," the police department updated its post, writing: "I must have missed something, I believed that this young man was arrested, charged, indicted and then found not guilty by a jury of his peers. Is this not how our country works anymore? The hate in these comments is terrible, if you have information that is contrary to that I would honestly love to hear it."
Newsweek reached out to the Thrall Police Department for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Sara Santora is a Newsweek reporter based in Florida. Her focus is reporting on viral social media posts and trends. ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
