Kyle Rittenhouse Acquitted On All Charges

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https://apnews.com/article/kyle-rittenhouse-business-wisconsin-homicide-kenosha-27f812ba532d65c044617483c915e4de

Kyle Rittenhouse cleared of all charges in Kenosha shootings
By MICHAEL TARM, SCOTT BAUER and AMY FORLITI
November 19, 2021 GMT

Kyle Rittenhouse is comfort by his lawyer as he was acquitted of all
charges at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Friday,
Nov. 19, 2021. The jury came back with its verdict after close to 3
1/2 days of deliberation. (AP Photo 1 of 15)

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges
Friday after pleading self-defense in the deadly Kenosha shootings
that became a flashpoint in the debate over guns, vigilantism and
racial injustice in the U.S.

Rittenhouse, 18, began to choke up, fell to the floor and then hugged
one of his attorneys upon hearing the verdict.

He had been charged with homicide, attempted homicide and reckless
endangering after killing two men and wounding a third with an
AR-style semi-automatic rifle during a tumultuous night of protests
over police violence against Black people in the summer of 2020. The
former police youth cadet is white, as were those he shot.

The jury, which appeared to be overwhelmingly white, deliberated for
close to 3 1/2 days.

Rittenhouse could have gotten life in prison if found guilty on the
most serious charge, first-degree intentional homicide, or what some
other states call first-degree murder.

As he dismissed the jurors, Circuit Judger Bruce Schroeder assured
them the court would take “every measure” to ensure they are safe.

A sheriff’s deputy immediately whisked Rittenhouse out a back door
through the judge’s chambers.

In reaction to the verdict, prosecutor Thomas Binger said the jury had spoken.

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is Black and a Democratic
candidate for U.S. Senate, reacted bitterly to the outcome.

“Over the last few weeks, many dreaded the outcome we just witnessed,”
Barnes said. “The presumption of innocence until proven guilty is what
we should expect from our judicial system, but that standard is not
always applied equally. We have seen so many black and brown youth
killed, only to be put on trial posthumously, while the innocence of
Kyle Rittenhouse was virtually demanded by the judge.”

As the verdict drew near, Gov. Tony Evers pleaded for calm and said
500 National Guard members would be ready for duty in Kenosha if
needed.

Rittenhouse was 17 when he went from his home in Antioch, Illinois, to
Kenosha after businesses in the city were ransacked and burned over
the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white police officer.

Carrying a weapon that authorities said was illegally purchased for
the underage Rittenhouse, he joined other armed citizens in what he
said was an effort to protect property and provide medical aid.

Bystander and drone video captured most of the frenzied chain of
events that followed: Rittenhouse killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, then
shot to death protester Anthony Huber, 26, and wounded demonstrator
Gaige Grosskreutz, now 28.

Prosecutors portrayed Rittenhouse as a “wannabe soldier” who had gone
looking for trouble that night and was responsible for creating a
dangerous situation in the first place by pointing his rifle at
demonstrators.

But Rittenhouse testified: “I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself.”

Breaking into sobs at one point, he told the jury he opened fire after
Rosenbaum chased him and made a grab for his gun. He said he was
afraid his rifle was going to be wrested away and used to kill him.

Huber was then killed after hitting Rittenhouse in the head or neck
with a skateboard, and Grosskreutz was shot after pointing a gun of
his own at Rittenhouse.

The case was part of an extraordinary confluence of trials that
reflected the deep divide over race in the United States: In Georgia,
three white men are on trial in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, while in
Virginia, a trial is underway in a lawsuit over the deadly
white-supremacist rally held in Charlottesville in 2017.

The exact racial makeup of the Rittenhouse jury wasn’t clear because
jurors were not asked about their race in court.

The bloodshed in Kenosha took place during a summer of
sometimes-violent protests set off across the U.S. by the killing of
George Floyd in Minneapolis and other cases involving the police use
of force against Black people.

While some Americans condemned Rittenhouse as a vigilante, some on the
right hailed him as a hero who exercised his Second Amendment gun
rights and tried to put a stop to lawlessness.

Then-President Donald Trump said it appeared Rittenhouse had been
“very violently attacked.” Supporters donated more than $2 million
toward his legal defense.

Rittenhouse had also been charged with possession of a dangerous
weapon by a person under 18, a misdemeanor that had appeared likely to
lead to a conviction. But the judge threw out that charge before jury
deliberations after the defense argued that the Wisconsin law did not
apply to the long-barreled rifle used by Rittenhouse.

Schroeder’s handling of the trial drew attention at several points,
including when he led applause for military veterans on Veterans Day
just before a defense witness who had been in the Army was about to
take the stand. The judge also let Rittenhouse himself draw juror
numbers from a raffle drum to set the final 12 who deliberated.

Video and testimony from some of the prosecution’s own witnesses
seemed to buttress Rittenhouse’s claim of self-defense.

Witnesses described Rosenbaum as “hyperaggressive” and said that he
dared others to shoot him and threatened to kill Rittenhouse earlier
that night. A videographer testified Rosenbaum lunged for the rifle
just before he was shot, and a pathologist said his injuries appeared
to indicate his hand was over the barrel.

Also, Rosenbaum’s fiancee disclosed that he was on medication for
bipolar disorder and depression. Rittenhouse’s lawyers branded
Rosenbaum a “crazy person.”

Some civil rights activists saw a racial double standard in the way
the white gunman was treated.

On the night of the shootings, law enforcement officers saw
Rittenhouse and other armed people on the streets despite a curfew and
gave them bottles of water, with one officer heard saying over a
loudspeaker, “We appreciate you guys.”

Later, amid the tumult, Rittenhouse managed to get past a police line
with his weapon slung over his shoulder and was not arrested that
night.