Police officer 'canceled' for Rittenhouse donation speaks out
Dan Bongino sheds light on victims of cancel culture in a new season of Fox Nation's 'Canceled in the USA'
Cancel culture has seeped into the lives of Americans to oftentimes reveal serious consequences, and Fox Nation’s newest season of "Canceled in the USA," hosted by Dan Bongino, is allowing some of the latest victims to speak out, like former police officer William Kelly.
After the Black Lives Matter riots in Kenosha, Wisc., led to the indictment of 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse for murder, Kelly – a 19-year veteran of the Norfolk, Va., Police Department and executive officer of the department’s Riot Team – analyzed the incident as self-defense and felt moved to support the teen.
The officer decided to make a $25 anonymous donation to Rittenhouse through the fundraising platform GiveSendGo, but his act of charity was soon after leaked by a hacker who shared his information with The Guardian.
The Guardian then released a piece written by Jason Wilson, slamming Kelly and other officers for contributing to Rittenhouse’s funding.
Former Norfolk Police Lt. Bill Kelly joins Fox & Friends Weekend
"It seemed like the only purpose of the article was to shame people who had different opinions and perhaps to silence people who had different opinions than what they perhaps held," Kelly said.
Kelly reported that his family began to receive death threats from the public once the article had been published. Kelly’s request to check on his family was denied by his boss, who notified the officer that he was required to sit through an internal inquiry on the matter.
"Even at that point in the investigative process, I thought that at worst, it would have been a suspension," he reflected. "It might have been being transferred out of the unit. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be fired."
But the officer was, in fact, fired under the charges of using his City of Norfolk email address to open a GiveSendGo account without permission and that his comments "brought him and the Norfolk Police Department into disrepute." Kelly considered these charges "nonsense" since his opinions are widespread amongst Americans.
Kyle Rittenhouse talks about how Gaige Grosskreutz was holding his gun when Rittenhouse shot him on Aug. 25, 2020, while testifying during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, November 10, 2021. Sean Krajacic/Pool via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
"I couldn't believe it. It was unreal," he said. "I identified as a police officer as part of who I am. I felt like all of that hard work didn't matter. When the chips were down and they had the chance to defend me or to throw me to the wolves, they took the easy road."
Kelly also pointed out the presence of a double standard since he had expressed his opinions anonymously while other officers have been outspoken about events like BLM in recent years without facing punishment.
Regardless of Kelly being stripped of his career and his identity, Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all counts, which Kelly predicted from the very beginning.
Kyle Rittenhouse hugs one of his attorneys, Corey Chirafisi, after he is found not guilty in his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on November 19, 2021 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Photo by Sean Krajacic - Pool/Getty Images)
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