A protest against the Kyle Rittenhouse’s not guilty verdict on the steps of the state Capitol on Saturday turned into a Black Lives Matter march through the streets of downtown Hartford.

Michael and Richard Oretade, co-founders of the racial justice activist group BLM860, led the protest in Hartford.

“What happened in Kenosha was a tragedy. I don’t care how you want to justify it,” Michael Oretade said. “Before he slayed them in the streets, they went down to fight for justice.

“The system … does not work in our favor. It was never built for us at the bottom.”

About 50 to 60 people — holding signs that read “Vigilantism is Lynching,” “White supremacy is the real pandemic,” “Killer Kyle” and other sayings — gathered on the Capitol steps to hear Michael Oretade and Peter Goselin, co-chairmen of the Connecticut Green Party, express outrage against racial inequality in the courts and in society in general.

On Aug. 25, 2020, Rittenhouse, a white then-17-year-old, killed two people at a protest against the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha, Wis., police officer.

Rittenhouse traveled to the protest from his Illinois home, armed with an AR-15 assault rifle. He said he was there to protect property from vandalism and provide medical aid. He fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and injured Gaige Grosskreutz. He was charged with two counts each of homicide and reckless endangerment and one count each of attempted homicide, unlawful possession of a firearm and curfew violation. His lawyers argued that he acted in self-defense. In court, Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed the possession charge. On Friday, the jury unanimously acquitted Rittenhouse of all the other charges.

Reactions to the shootings became polarized and politicized, with many conservatives hailing Rittenhouse as a hero. Protests are happening nationwide as a result of the verdict. Many protests focus on how respectfully Rittenhouse was treated by police, in contrast to how many Black people are treated.

Goselin called the verdict a victory for the extreme right.

“No question after the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict, there will be white supremacists who believe they can go out on the streets and create an incident … and kill people and claim self-defense,” Goselin said.

The protesters expressed particular rage at President Joe Biden, whose response to the verdict was: “The jury system works, and we have to abide by it.”

“The entire process was poisoned from the word go,” Goselin said. “… And somehow we’re supposed to respect the outcome of this process.”

Michael Oretade led the march from the Capitol, along Bushnell Park, through the traffic circle into Main Street, then working its way back to the Capitol through the Black Lives Matter mural painted on the street.

As the march wound its way through the city, about a half dozen others joined the marchers who yelled, “Black Lives Matter,” “No justice, no peace,” “Fight the power” and other chants.