Was kyle rittenhouse found not guilty trial#

He is shown falling to the ground, at which point Huber approaches Rittenhouse, swinging a skateboard toward Rittenhouse’s head in an apparent attempt to disarm him. Additional videos show Rittenhouse fleeing the scene and being chased by a crowd. Then, in the footage, Rittenhouse fires four shots at close range into Rosenbaum’s body, killing him. In another, filmed from a drone, Rosenbaum catches up to Rittenhouse and lunges toward him. One of these videos shows that shortly before midnight, Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across the parking lot of a car dealership and threw a plastic bag at him. The lawyers regularly went frame by frame as they questioned witnesses and made opening and closing arguments. Later that night, Rittenhouse shot and killed protesters Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27.īystander and drone video footage captured the shootings and the events leading up to them, and lawyers for both the prosecution and defense relied heavily on these audiovisual elements as they made their cases.

Was kyle rittenhouse found not guilty trial#

In an interview that evening, he told Daily Caller reporter Richard McGinnis - who testified at trial - that he came to the protests to protect private property and act as a medic, falsely describing himself as an EMT. (State prosecutors declined to file charges against the officer who shot Blake after evidence showed that he was armed with a knife the officer also did not face disciplinary action.)Īfter two nights of violent protests that saw arrests, property damage, and looting, Rittenhouse, armed with an AR-15-style rifle and a medical kit, traveled to Kenosha from his home in nearby Antioch, Illinois, on Aug. He was left paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his injuries. Blake had been walking toward his car, within which were three of his children, who witnessed the shooting. 23, 2020, after a police officer shot a 29-year-old Black man named Jacob Blake in the back. “We’re thankful in more ways than one that the jury finally got to hear the true story.”Ĭivil unrest erupted in Kenosha on Aug. “He wishes none of this would have ever happened but as he said … he did not start this,” Rittenhouse’s attorney Mark Richards told reporters shortly after the verdict.

The defense maintained that the then-17-year-old wanted to defend businesses and people from rioters and only fired his weapon because he had an imminent fear for his life. The prosecution sought to portray Rittenhouse as a vigilante and instigator who came to the city armed in anticipation of and seeking violence. The highly anticipated verdict came after about 26 hours of deliberation following a two-week trial that focused on a single question: Was Rittenhouse acting in self-defense when he fatally shot two people and wounded another during civil unrest? Throughout the trial, right-wing figures like the McCloskeys, who were charged for unlawful use of a weapon after they were filmed pointing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters in Missouri, backed Rittenhouse and took photos with supporters outside the courthouse. Earlier in the trial, the judge dismissed a curfew violation charge against Rittenhouse, ruling that the state had not presented sufficient evidence.Īlmost immediately after his arrest, Rittenhouse was lionized in some right-wing circles where vigilantes were celebrated for pushing back against the racial justice protests that spread across the country during the summer of 2020.

The jury acquitted Rittenhouse of first-degree reckless homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon, first-degree intentional homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon (Wisconsin’s murder count), attempted first-degree intentional homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon, and two counts of recklessly endangering safety with the use of a dangerous weapon.Īlthough Rittenhouse initially faced seven charges, the judge on Monday dismissed a misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18 after the defense successfully argued that a technicality concerning the length of a gun used by a minor in Wisconsin’s statute cleared him.

KENOSHA, Wisconsin - Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty of all charges against him on Friday after he testified he was acting in self-defense when he fatally shot two people, wounded one, and attempted to shoot two others during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020.