It’s been just over three years since Kyle Rittenhouse shot three men, killing two of them, during a Black Lives Matter protest. Now, the estate of one of the men is suing him in federal court on numerous claims, fortunately.

I say fortunately because Rittenhouse deserves this.

The estate of Joseph Rosenbaum filed the lawsuit against Rittenhouse, the Kenosha Police Department, several individual Kenosha Police officers, and several other state agencies on August 25, exactly three years after the fatal shootings.

Per Law & Crime, “The 48-page lawsuit accuses the defendants of wrongful death, negligence, conspiracy, civil rights violations, First Amendment retaliation, and numerous other constitutional and common law claims.”

Rosenbaum was protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake on the night of August 25, 2020, when he was killed. Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, traveled across state lines with an AR-styled rifle and shot and killed Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and injured Gaige Grosskreutz. The obviously right-wing teen was tried on two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He testified that he shot the men in self-defense and jurors ultimately found him not guilty on all charges.

Despite the fact that Rosenbaum and Huber would likely still be alive today if Rittenhouse hadn’t traveled across state lines (from Illinois to Wisconsin) with a rifle he wasn’t legally supposed to own such a weapon. Rittenhouse’s attorneys noted there is one exception in the Wisconsin law — a minor can own shotguns and rifles as long as they are not short-barreled.

Rosenbaum, who had been recently released from a mental hospital, crossed paths with Rittenhouse in a used car lot as Rittenhouse brandished the rifle, NPR reports. The 36-year-old was unarmed, carrying only a plastic bag containing a toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, deodorant, and some papers.

Rittenhouse’s lawyers alleged at the time that Rosenbaum approached Rittenhouse and tried to “engage” him. This scared Rittenhouse, who took off running as Rosenbaum gave chase. Videos of the incident show that Rosenbaum threw the plastic bag he’d been carrying at Rittenhouse, who fired four shots at him in return.

Of course, it can be argued that Rittenhouse may not have known if Rosenbaum was armed or not, but the fact is, Rittenhouse fired a deadly weapon in the midst of a crowded protest and two men lost their lives as a result.

There is no debating that. And yes, it could be said that this was self-defense but what was he even doing there in the first place? Let’s remember that he traveled across state lines, with a weapon illegally purchased for him. It’s been reported that Rittenhouse was there to defend the Kenosha dealership but that’s a job for Kenosha police, not some right-wing wannabe/nevergonnabe Clint Eastwood.

The filing seeks compensatory damages and alleges that law enforcement pretty much allowed armed vigilantes to run wild on the night when Rosenbaum and Huber were killed. It also alleges that local and county agencies “directly caused” Rosenbaum’s death “in concert with Rittenhouse’s bullets,” per Law & Crime.

“During the protests, private citizens took up arms and patrolled the streets of Kenosha, acting as law enforcement agents,” the lawsuit reads. “Many of them had posted racist messages and threatened violence on social media before descending upon Kenosha. They made their plans known to law enforcement agents.

The filing states the accusation plainly:

“Astonishingly, the Kenosha Police Department, Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department, their supervising officials and police officers, and law enforcement officers from surrounding communities did not treat Defendant Rittenhouse or any of the other armed individuals patrolling the streets as a threat to the safety of themselves or the citizens they were sworn to protect,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, the law enforcement Defendants deputized these armed individuals, conspired with them, and ratified their actions by letting them patrol the streets, armed with deadly weapons, to mete out justice as they saw fit.”

After Rosenbaum was killed by Rittenhouse, Huber, and Grosskreutz approached and tried to disarm him. Huber wound up being killed and Grosskreutz was shot in the arm. The lawsuit refers to Grosskreutz and Huber as “heroes” because, well, they are. They already knew Rittenhouse was dangerous and obviously they were hoping to prevent him from harming other protesters.

And the lawsuit states further that law enforcement “did not limit [Rittenhouse’s] movement in any way,” or “stop him from shooting individuals after he started.”

“They did not arrest him, detain him, or question him even after he had killed two people,” the filing states. “Among other things, the Law Enforcement Defendants directed their curfew order only at people protesting the Law Enforcement Defendants’ own police violence, and not at Defendant Rittenhouse and others, who were supportive of law enforcement.”

Heck, Wisconsin police even allowed Rittenhouse to go back to Illinois, where he turned himself in to law enforcement later that same night. He was kept in a juvenile lockup and extradited to Wisconsin on October 30, 2020.

Rittenhouse walks freely now, something that the two men he killed will never be able to do ever again. For the record, I think Rittenhouse is a whiny, little b*st*rd. He’s complaining on a far-right blog:

“These lawsuits are making it harder and harder for me to move on with my life,” he’s reported as saying in response to the Rosenbaum estate’s lawsuit. “It’s extremely difficult to go outside without fear of being harassed or assaulted because of the lies spread in these lawsuits. No one should have to continue to defend the fact that they acted in self-defense.”

Which he would have never had to do if he hadn’t traveled to a protest with a loaded weapon. So I hope Rosenbaum’s estate triumphs and wins big.