No charges for Kenosha officer who shot Jacob Blake

Authorities put up concrete barricades and metal fencing around the Kenosha County, Wis., Courthouse, and many businesses in the city had boarded up their windows on Tuesday. A state prosecutor announced he would not file criminal charges against the police officer, Rusten Sheskey, who shot African American man Jacob Blake in August, leaving him paralyzed. The police were responding to a 911 call for a domestic incident involving Blake, but there is a dispute among him, the officers, and bystanders about the situation leading up to the shooting.

Did the decision spark protests? On Tuesday evening, about 20 protesters chanting “No justice, no peace” marched north of downtown. Another group of demonstrators later confronted National Guard members outside the courthouse, but the gatherings mostly remained peaceful. On Monday night, the Common Council unanimously gave the mayor the authority to impose a curfew. Gov. Tony Evers activated 500 National Guard troops to support the city in case of violence. The same day the prosecutor made his announcement, an Illinois teen facing multiple charges for shooting three people during the summer protests in Kenosha pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors added breaking curfew to the earlier charges, including intentional homicide, against 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse.

Dig deeper: Read Anna Johansen’s report about the aftermath of the protests in Kenosha.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its original posting.