Wisconsin Governor Mobilizes National Guard in Preparation for Riots, Jacob Blake Police Charging Announcement

Richard Moorhead   |  

Jan 4, 2021

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced a mobilization of the Wisconsin National Guard to Kenosha on Monday, suggesting an announcement is imminent as to a decision to charge Kenosha Police officer Rusten Sheskey in the shooting of sex crimes suspect Jacob Blake. Sheskey shot Blake seven times in August when the home invasion fugitive resisted arrest, carrying a knife while attempting to kidnap his ex-girlfriend’s children and steal her car.

The Guard deployment suggests police and civil authorities are expecting a riot backlash in response to the impending announcement, and that Kenosha’s government is eager to avoid a repeat of the summer’s destructive riots. The price tag for damages from the wide-ranging riots has been estimated as $50 million– paling in comparison to the onslaught of property destruction in Minneapolis, but serious enough to fundamentally harm the city’s economy.

The August shooting set off some of the most serious Black Lives Matter rioting of the summer in the Wisconsin city. 17-year old Kyle Rittenhouse is currently facing murder charges for a shooting incident during the riots, having opened fire on a convicted pedophile and two other left-wing rioters who assailed him.

Sources familiar with the District Attorney’s deliberations have suggested that District Attorney Michael Graveley is very likely to formally announce that he won’t be charging Sheskey in Blake’s shooting. Graveley will cite Blake’s commission of two felonies during the fateful shooting, his possession of a knife, and the outstanding felony sexual assault warrant mandating his arrest.

Street riot events are usually less powerful during the winter, but riot incidents that follow a non-prosecution announcement could have implications for strength of the Black Lives Matter street terror movement during a tentative Joe Biden presidency.