Up to this point, I agreed with you. Your general conclusions fit the facts. Rittenhouse should not have been there, but his actions don't rise to intentional murder.

However, I've shot most of the worlds major military rifles (FN500, AR-15, actual M16, and multiple variants of the Kalashnikov design). I despise the AR. It's a plastic POS with a lot of moving parts that like to jam up against each other. It is an expert's weapon, and a great many experts would prefer reliability and simplicity to the complexity of a sewing machine.

Yeah, the rate of fire is impressive. That's about it. I'd take an AK any time over any of Stoner's designs.