<p>KENOSHA, Wis. — Fifty-five people are facing charges related to violent demonstrations in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake last summer, police said Friday.</p>
<p>Kenosha Officer Rusten Sheskey shot Blake seven times in August during a domestic dispute, leaving him paralyzed. Blake, who is Black, was holding a pocketknife that had fallen from his pocket during a scuffle with police. Sheskey has not been charged, but Blake <a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-race-and-ethnicity-shootings-police-jacob-blake-0578cba51dabf8a53067d818a91e2dfe">filed a civil lawsuit </a> this week accusing him of using excessive force.</p>
<p>The shooting, captured on bystander video, turned the nation’s spotlight on Wisconsin during a summer marked by nationwide protests against police brutality and racism. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/62ddb4c23511f0c1959fb4a691a81927">The violent protests</a> in Kenosha lasted for several nights.</p>
<p>“Large numbers of people engaged in lawful protest; however, many engaged in unlawful and dangerous activity,” Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis said in a statement.</p>
<p>An Illinois teenager is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/kyle-rittenhouse-trial-delayed-at-least-7-months-d0ee77b3132cd30e18259327cf37bcad">facing multiple charges</a>, including two homicide counts. Kyle Rittenhouse of Antioch is accused of opening fire on protesters with an AR-15-style rifle, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/0994e25654d255e552aaad8a15e16c84">killing two people</a> and injuring a third. According to prosecutors, Rittenhouse said he traveled to Kenosha on Aug. 25 to protect businesses from protesters.</p>
<p>Black Lives Matter supporters have painted him as a trigger-happy white supremacist. Rittenhouse argues he was attacked and fired in self-defense.</p>
<p>Miskinis said 49 adults and six minors are facing charges including arson, burglary, possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon, criminal damage and disorderly conduct. He said 35 of those charged are Kenosha residents. The new tally did not include Rittenhouse.</p>
<p>Police are trying to identify “many more suspects," Miskinis said, noting, “More arrests are expected in the coming months.”</p>
