Writing at the Atlantic, Adam Serwer connects this tendency to elements of right-wing gun culture that rely on constant invocations of leftist tyranny to inspire and justify preparation for armed resistance to it. The backdrop is the construction of a “legal regime” in which Americans are liberated to settle differences themselves with the foot soldiers of leftist tyranny “with lethal force.”

The final piece of this puzzle is to suggest evaluation of this killing should have been taken out of the realm of rule of law entirely. For Trump, the injustice that occurred here is that Rittenhouse’s conduct was subjected to structured, procedural evaluation within a realm of authority whose enforcement power derives from democratic decision-making.

That’s bad enough coming from an unhinged Fox News personality or a far-right Internet fringe lurker. But this is coming from the former president of the United States — and a likely future candidate for that office, as well.

-Greg Sargent in Salon.com