A jury hasnt ruled yet in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen facing homicide charges for shooting three men during a 2020 protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin but Republicans and their allies are already wielding the issue in their broader culture war ahead of the midterm elections.

I think that its not a trial, its child abuse masquerading as justice in this country, said J.D. Vance , the author and venture capitalist running for Senate in Ohio, said on Tucker Carlson s Fox News program Wednesday. This entire trial this entire farce is an indictment on every institution in our society.

Potentially facing life in prison if convicted of the most serious charges, Rittenhouse has been championed by the right after he fatally shot two men and wounded another during a protest that erupted in response to a white Kenosha officer shooting and leaving a Black man, Jacob Blake, paralyzed from the waist down. The trial has fiercely divided the nation over whether Rittenhouse, 17 at the time, was acting as a hero or a vigilante.

Rittenhouses trial has become symbolic of the nations political polarization over police brutality, racism and gun rights issues that are nearly certain to factor into the upcoming election cycle.