Facebook probing platform after Wis. shooting

Facebook is investigating activity on its platform after the shooting of three protesters in Kenosha, Wis., a spokesperson for the platform told The Hill Wednesday.

A group called “Kenosha Guard” and an event promoted by the page called “Armed Citizens to Protect our Lives” have both been taken down.

The Kenosha Guard page was removed for violating the platform’s policy against militia organizations.

The page had more than 3,000 members before being taken down, according to The Verge, which first reported on both the page and the event.

Thousands have joined protests in Kenosha since police shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, in the back multiple times on Sunday. Blake’s family says he is currently paralyzed from the waist down.

On Tuesday night, two people were shot dead and another was injured during a Black Lives Matter protest.

Illinois police on Wednesday arrested Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, in connection to the shooting.

The violent escalation followed calls from militias to “protect” Kenosha from protests, a refrain that has been deployed frequently by armed groups in response to the hundreds of anti-police brutality manifestations that have taken place since the killing of George Floyd.