Black Lives Matter activist Vaun L. Mayes suggested that the Waukesha, Wisconsin incident, that killed five people Sunday evening, may have been a reaction to the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict.
Police arrested suspect Darrell E. Brooks early Monday after he allegedly plowed through a crowd at the Waukesha Christmas Parade in a red SUV that left five people dead and more than 40 injured.
Mayes arrived at the scene early Monday giving his own account of what he witnessed on a Facebook livestream in the aftermath of the incident. In the video, Mayes said an anonymous source made claims that Brooks drove through the crowd as retribution for Rittenhouse’s acquittal.
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“I don’t know, now we’ll have to wait and see because they do have somebody in custody. We may have to wait and see what they say about why this happened,” Mayes said. “But it sounds possible that the revolution has started in Wisconsin. It started with this Christmas parade.”
Black Lives Matter activist Vaun L Mayes @YungLz at the scene of the Waukesha parade attack:
“It sounds like the revolution has started,” mentions hearing from a source who believes Darrell Brooks may have been motivated by the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict.pic.twitter.com/ayp3BjbfZ7— Nobody (@TheNoboddy) November 22, 2021
“I said I wasn’t gonna speak on no rumors, but repeating some of the stuff that has come up, I can tell you that the initial person that reached out to me said that they believe this has to do with the verdict. So I made an assumption of which side it would be from, but I don’t know.”
Mayes emphasized that the claims have not been proven to be true and that he will not confirm anything until more information is released. There is currently no evidence that the Rittenhouse verdict has any connection to the Waukesha incident. (RELATED: Witness Of Parade Crash Says ‘Horrifying’ Scene Included People ‘Lying Lifeless’ In The Middle Of The Street)
According to Waukesha Police, Brooks will be charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide.
“There is no evidence that this is a terrorist incident,” Chief Thompson said at a press conference Monday. “We have no information that Brooks knew anybody from the parade.”
Brooks is currently being held in custody and is being questioned by police, Fox News reported. He recently appeared in court on Nov. 5 after being charged with reckless endangerment, battery, domestic abuse, bail jumping, and resisting arrest.
A background check from Wisconsin’s Department of Justice has records of the 39-year-old’s criminal history dating back to 1999, according to the outlet. He has had multiple charges relating to alleged battery, attacking a woman after an argument about phone calls, and bail jumping.
Meanwhile, the Rittenhouse verdict has sparked outrage and protests from activists and members of the media across the U.S. Demonstrators chanted in favor of a “communist revolution” at a Chicago protest led by Rev. Jesse Jackson on Saturday. In New York, protesters gathered in Brooklyn and Manhattan with calls to “burn the precinct to the ground.”
Police formally declared the Portland, Oregon demonstrations to be “riots” due to protesters throwing objects at law enforcement and destroying the front gate of the Multnomah County Justice Center.