Many rioters openly brandished rifles and handguns. One such rioter fired the first shot of the Rittenhouse incident [2], contributing to Rittenhouse's (true) belief that he was under attack. Rioters sent a 70-year-old man to the ER on the first night of riots in Kenosha, breaking his jaw and knocking him out when he tried to stop them burning down a business. Rittenhouse saw all this on TV before he went to Kenosha next day to help clean up riot damage. Incidentally, the parts of Kenosha that burned were mainly minority-owned small businesses and apartment buildings [3].
If you threaten to kill someone, chase them down a dark street and then attempt to kill them at a riot that you started, the fact that they're armed and you're not means squat. Don't try to kill kids and burn down their towns. You'll live longer.
[0] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/there-no-d...
[1] https://spectatorworld.com/life/antifa-aesthetic-washington-...
[2] https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/580073-detective-sh...
[3] https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/new-york-times-buried-...
[1]: The Hill: "CNN ridiculed for 'Fiery But Mostly Peaceful' caption with video of burning building in Kenosha" https://archive.ph/oTwP7
Interesting argument, especially given the video clearly shows Jacob Blake, whom the police shot, was threatening said police with a knife. And he was the "reason" for the protests & riots.
The riots were not glorified. It was the outcome of the unjustified violence against African Americans.
"threaten to kill a kid defending local homes and businesses"
Rittenhouse is the one who is armed. People might not have attacked him if he's not brandishing a firearm.