The killing of two protestors in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday night may have emerged in response to a Facebook event posted by a self-described militia, which referred to the event as a “call to arms.”
The event was also promoted by Infowars, which posted a screenshot of the Facebook event listing. The listing is no longer publicly accessible but, reached on Facebook, the Kenosha Guard account confirmed to The Verge that the screenshots were authentic. The group’s Facebook page has also been taken down, but it boasted more than 3,000 members as of this morning.
A Facebook representative said they could not comment at this time, citing an ongoing investigation. However, the platform confirmed to The Verge that the event was in violation of Facebook policies and that it was in the process of various related enforcement actions.
An event listing, hosted by the Kenosha Guard Facebook page For three days, Kenosha has been racked with protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old father of six who was shot in the back by police. The protests have incurred significant property damage, destroying a local Department of Corrections facility on Monday night.
In a post Tuesday afternoon, the Kenosha Guard Facebook group encouraged an armed response to the ongoing unrest. “Any patriots willing to take up arms and defend our city tonight from the evil thugs?” the post reads. “No doubt they are currently planning on the next part of the city to burn tonight.”
At 11:45PM Tuesday night, two people were killed after a confrontation between protestors and men armed with long rifles, with a third sustaining injuries. Video of the shooting appears to show an armed militia member firing at protestors. The local sheriff’s office is still investigating the shooting, and the perpetrator has yet to be identified.
In a statement Wednesday morning, the group said it was unsure whether one of its members had fired on protestors but did not disavow the shooting or its perpetrator. “We are unaware if the armed citizen was answering the Kenosha Guard Militia’s call to arms,” the statement reads. “Just like with the shooting of Jacob Blake, we need all the facts and evidence to come out before we make a judgement. God Bless and stay safe Kenosha!”
Correction: An earlier version of this piece stated that Jacob Blake had been killed by police. In fact, Blake suffered severe injuries and remains hospitalized, but is in stable condition. The Verge regrets the error.