‘Make Sense, Dummy?’: Kyle Rittenhouse Inserts Himself Into Karmelo Anthony’s Case to Call Supporters ‘Stupid’ and Instantly Regrets It As Critics Remind Him of Facts He Conveniently Forgot
It was just a matter of time before Kyle Rittenhouse injected himself into the controversy over alleged killer Karmelo Anthony, the Black 17-year-old charged in the stabbing death of a white athlete at a Dallas-area track meet.
Many have cited Rittenhouse’s case when arguing against a right-wing mob that has declared Anthony guilty of murdering Austin Metcalf, also 17, even though he claims he acted in self-defense.
Rittenhouse, who is white, was 17 when he shot two men dead who he says threatened him with harm in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, in August 2020. MAGA leaped to his defense, but many of those same people have expressed outrage now that a judge has reduced Anthony’s bond from $1 million to $250,0000.
Anthony is now under house arrest, fitted with an ankle monitor.
The suspect’s family and the judge, Angela Tucker, a Black Republican, have since been subjected to a torrent of criticism and racist attacks online from MAGA social media influencers, some of whom say this case is an example of “anti-white racism.”
“There is a large population who live in fantasy land and have created a false reality in their head about what happened that day,” said Collin Rugg, an aggregator with a big MAGA following. “They also think getting touched is a good reason to stab someone to death in the heart (it’s not). Never underestimate how stupid people can be.”
Rittenhouse has dealt with a similar backlash after offering his commentary in a post published Wednesday on X.
“So, the left thinks what Karmelo Anthony did was self-defense, but what I did wasn’t? Can someone please help this make sense?” Rittenhouse wrote. He also called Anthony’s family spokesman, activist Dominique Alexander, “plain old stupid” in a separate post in which he goes on to hawk wholesale firearms.
Commenters accepted Rittenhouse’s challenge with an array of ripostes.
“Kyle Rittenhouse can be 17 with an AR-15, Karmelo Anthony CAN’T be 17 with a knife. Make it make sense,” wrote one.
Civil rights leader Bishop Talbert Swan amplified that contradiction in his post.
“White folks out here asking why Karmelo Anthony had a knife but had no problem with 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse having an AR 15 that he wasn’t licensed to carry,” Swan remarked.
“You intentionally crossed state lines with a rifle at 17 you were not old enough to carry or purchase to kill … make sense dummy,” another added.
Another commenter reminded Rittenhouse, “You went there to fight, the fight came to Karmelo. These are the not the same.”
Yet another added, “You toted a gun to a different state & brandished that mf somewhere you didn’t even have any business being in the first place lmao. it’s not even remotely the same situation to begin with.”
Police have charged Anthony, a Centennial High School student and football player, with first degree murder, though his legal team insists he acted in self-defense against Metcalf, an athlete at rival Memorial High. Both schools are located in the Frisco suburb, just north of Dallas.
According to the arrest report, the fight started when Metcalf asked Anthony to move from under Memorial’s pop-up tent, at which point a witness alleges Anthony reached into a bag and replied: “Touch me and see what happens.”
Anthony didn’t deny stabbing Metcalf, telling police, “I’m not alleged. I did it.”
He also told them he was protecting himself, adding, “(Metcalf) put his hands on me.”
Anthony’s father later told the New York Post his son had been “provoked” and “was not the aggressor.”
Nearly half a million dollars have been raised to support Anthony and his family on the crowd funding website GiveSendGo.
Rittenhouse also received support from across the nation when he was charged with murder and attempted intentional homicide after he shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and injured Paul Prediger during protests in Kenosha in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Rittenhouse’s legal team argued he acted in self-defense and their client was acquitted of all charges in November 2021.
Not everyone agrees there’s a comparison to be made between the two cases.
“Kyle wasn’t a school event. Kyle was attacked by a violent mob that meant to kill him. You can’t be this stupid,” wrote one Rittenhouse supporter.
“No one was trying to kill karmelo,” remarked another. “His reaction was not proportional. That’s the problem here. A mob was chasing and trying to kill Kyle. Karmelo lost his seat. Huge difference.”