A 'Kenosha Guard' Facebook event called on people to 'take up arms' against protesters. Facebook removed it after two people were shot dead.

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A 'Kenosha Guard' Facebook event called on people to 'take up arms' against protesters. Facebook removed it after two people were shot dead.
A group holds rifels as they watch protesters on the street Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. Protests continued following the police shooting of Jacob Blake two days earlier.Morry Gash/AP
  • Before two protesters were shot and killed Tuesday night in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a Facebook page posted an event calling on members to "take up arms and defend our city tonight from the evil thugs."
  • The event was created by Kenosha Guard, a self-described militia group that had more than 3,000 members on Facebook.
  • Facebook removed the "call to arms" event and the Kenosha Guard page on Wednesday, according to The Verge.
  • An Illinois resident was arrested Wednesday in connection to the shooting that killed two people and left another injured during a night of protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
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A self-described militia group in Kenosha, Wisconsin, used Facebook to organize a "call to arms" event hours before two people were shot and killed during protests Tuesday night.

The event was created Tuesday by a page called Kenosha Guard — which had more than 3,000 members on Facebook — and called on people to "defend our city tonight from the evil thugs." Facebook on Wednesday removed the Kenosha Guard page and the event for violating its policies, the company told The Verge.

Kenosha has been rocked by protests for the past three days over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Blake's attorney said police shot Blake several times in the back after he attempted to break up an argument between two women. Protesters defaced and set fire to buildings throughout Kenosha this week, including a local corrections center.

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The Kenosha Guard Facebook group aimed to organize armed counterprotesters to take to the streets in a post Tuesday, according to screenshots preserved by The Verge.

"Any patriots willing to take up arms and defend our city tonight from the evil thugs?" the group wrote in the post. "No doubt they are currently planning on the next part of the city to burn tonight."

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Facebook did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Two people were shot and killed and at least one more was injured during the protests Tuesday night, according to a CNN report. Shortly after 11:45, a protester broadcasting on Facebook Live recorded the sound of several gunshots. Moments later, the video shows a man carrying a rifle who falls to the ground, fires his gun, and then stands up and continues walking down the street. More gunfire is heard seconds later.

Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Illinois, was charged with murder Wednesday in connection to the shooting deaths of the two protesters. A Daily Caller reporter interviewed Rittenhouse hours before the shooting in a video posted to Twitter.

"People are getting injured and our job is to protect the businesses," Rittenhouse said in the interview. "And part of my job is to also help people. If there is somebody hurt I'm running into harms way. That's why I have my rifle because I need to protect myself, obviously."

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