Sgt. William Kelly of Norfolk Police has been fired by the department after he anonymously donated to the legal defense fund of Kyle Rittenhouse, who says he shot multiple Antifa rioters in Kenosha, Wisconsin in self defense last year.
On Friday, the Guardian reported that the Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo had been subject to a data breach, with the leftist hacking organization Distributed Denial of Secrets publishing the breach on their site. One of the fundraisers on the site was the legal defense fund of Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who defended himself against multiple antifa rioters during the violent clashes in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year. Rittenhouse stands accused of the murder of two of those he allegedly shot, with a third man having survived the encounter.
In reporting the data breach, the Guardian highlighted a number of public officials who they claim donated anonymously, with the breach linking emails to donations and messages. One of those who donated to Rittenhouse’s legal defense fund was allegedly Sgt. William Kelly of Norfolk Police Department, Virginia. “God bless. Thank you for your courage. Keep your head up. You’ve done nothing wrong,” Kelly allegedly wrote with his $25 donation. “Every rank and file police officer supports you. Don’t be discouraged by actions of the political class of law enforcement leadership.”
Kelly, who was serving as the executive officer of the Norfolk PD’s internal affairs division, was initially reassigned to another department after an investigation was opened up into his actions. Norfolk City Manager Chip Filer said in a press release on Tuesday that Kelly had been fired, as his actions were allegedly “in violation” of various City and departmental policies. “His egregious comments erode the trust between the Norfolk Police Department and those they are sworn to serve,” Filer said. “The City of Norfolk has a standard of behavior for all employees, and we will hold staff accountable.”
“A police department cannot do its job when the public loses trust with those whose duty is to serve and protect them,” said Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone in a statement to residents of the area. “We do not want perceptions of any individual officer to undermine the relations between the Norfolk Police Department and the community.” Read more…