Kyle Rittenhouse acquitted of all charges in Kenosha shooting
Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted Friday on all charges in the shootings that killed two men and injured a third during last year’s violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The 18-year-old defendant broke down in tears and collapsed in his seat as the not-guilty verdict was read out in court. The shaking teen hugged one of his lawyers before he was whisked out of the courtroom through the judge’s chambers by a sheriff’s deputy as he was driven off — beaming in the back seat of the vehicle.
Rittenhouse had been charged with homicide, attempted homicide and reckless endangerment in the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, on Aug. 25, 2020.
The defendant was 17 when he brought a semi-automatic rifle and a medical kit to Kenosha in what he claims was an effort to protect businesses as riots broke over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who was left paralyzed from the waist down.
The high-profile case left Americans divided over whether Rittenhouse was a patriot taking a stand against lawlessness during the violence or just a dangerously reckless vigilante.
The jury deliberated for close to three and a half days before returning its unanimous verdict.
After the decision, Anthony Huber’s parents Karen Bloom and John Huber said they were “heartbroken” and “angry” that Rittenhouse walked free.
“Today’s verdict means there is no accountability for the person who murdered our son,” the pair said in a lengthy statement.
“It sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street.”
The Hubers praised their son as a “hero who sacrificed his own life to protect other innocent civilians.
“Make no mistake: our fight to hold those responsible for Anthony’s death accountable continues in full force. Neither Mr. Rittenhouse nor the Kenosha police who authorized his bloody rampage will escape justice,” they said.
Joseph Rosenbaum’s fiancée, Kariann Swart, called the verdict unacceptable.
“It feels like the victims’ lives don’t matter. And I don’t think that that is acceptable…If one person’s life or two persons’ lives don’t matter, then none of our lives matter.
Blake’s uncle criticized the judge.
“You have to understand that from Day One, the judge had his hand on the scale. He didn’t allow [evidence] pictures. He didn’t allow videotapes. He didn’t allow. He didn’t allow. He didn’t allow,” Justin Blake said. “He was doing everything he could to allow this young man to leave the courtroom clear and free.”
The Rittenhouse family said in a statement to Reuters, “We are all so very happy that Kyle can live his life as a free and innocent man, but in this whole situation there are no winners, there are two people who lost their lives and that’s not lost on us at all.”
Conservative local pols hailed the verdict – while New York’s lefty leaders bashed it.
“All of us who knew what actually happened in Kenosha last year assumed this would be the verdict,” Republican former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker tweeted. “Thankfully, the jury thought the same.
But New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio raged, “We can’t let this go” — even as his own Police Department braced for potential protests.
Kenosha prosecutor Thomas Binger only said afterward, “The jury has represented our community in this trial and has spoken.”
Mark Richards, Rittenhouse’s lead lawyer, said after the acquittal the teen is ready to put the ordeal behind him.
“He’s relieved, and he looks forward to getting on with his life,” Richards said. “And having a jury of 12 people find him not guilty meant the world to him, in practical and symbolic ways.”
Before the jury’s decision was announced, Judge Bruce Schroeder warned those in the court there “can’t be any reaction at all.”
“No matter how strongly you may feel, and it’s understood that many people do have strong feelings, but we can’t permit any kind of reaction to the verdict,” he said.
The judge went on to praise jurors after the verdict, saying he “couldn’t have asked for a better jury to work with.” He also vowed that the court would take “every measure” to keep them safe in the aftermath of the explosive case.
After the verdict was read, the jurors were quickly escorted out of the courthouse by sheriff’s deputies without speaking to reporters.
Lawyers for Joseph Rosenbaum’s estate called for peace after the acquittal.
“What we need right now is justice, not more violence. While today’s verdict may mean justice delayed, it will not mean justice denied,” lawyers Kimberley Motley and Milo Schwab said in a statement.
“We are committed to uncovering the truth of that night and holding those responsible to account.”
Rittenhouse had been facing life in prison if found guilty on the most serious charge of first-degree intentional homicide in Huber’s death.
Emotions were running high in anticipation of the verdict, with protests occurring outside the courthouse throughout the week as the jury deliberated.
National Guard troops were put in place in Kenosha by Gov. Tony Evers in preparation for potential violence surrounding the verdict.
Throughout the two-week trial, the jury heard how Rittenhouse fatally shot Rosenbaum in an initial confrontation and just moments later fatally shot Huber and wounded Grosskreutz.
His attorneys argued that he acted in self-defense and only pulled the trigger on those who provoked him during the protests.
“Kyle Rittenhouse shot Mr. Rosenbaum because he was attacking Kyle. Every person who was shot was attacking Kyle — one with a skateboard, one with his hands, one with his feet, one with his gun,” Richards said in closing arguments.
Prosecutors, however, portrayed him as the instigator of the bloodshed, claiming that he “provoked everything” by bringing a rifle to the protests then walked away like a “hero in a Western — without a care in the world for anything he’s just done.”
“You lose the right to self-defense when you’re the one who brought the gun, when you are the one creating the danger, when you’re the one provoking other people,” Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger told jurors.
Rittenhouse broke down on the stand as he testified in his own defense late in the trial, sobbing uncontrollably as he described hearing a gunshot from behind him as he was being chased through the street by Rosenbaum.
“I did what I had to do to stop the person who was attacking me by killing them,” the teen said.
Under cross-examination, a defiant Rittenhouse insisted he didn’t intend to kill any of the victims, telling jurors: “I didn’t intend to kill them. I intended to stop the people who were attacking me.”
Rittenhouse testified Rosenbaum had cornered him and put his hand on the barrel of his rifle, Huber struck him with a skateboard and Grosskreutz came at him with a gun.
His account was largely corroborated by a series of witness videos that were played to jurors, as well as the prosecution’s own witnesses.
Grosskreutz, the lone survivor, took to the stand as a prosecution witness, testifying that he was unintentionally pointing his gun at Rittenhouse when the teen fired at him.
“I thought the defendant was an active shooter,” Grosskreutz said, adding he went after Rittenhouse after seeing him shoot the second man at close range.
Asked what was going through his mind as he pulled his gun from the holster, he said: “That I was going to die.”
The high-profile trial was filled with fiery exchanges between the prosecution, defense — and even the judge, who at one point suggested the state was acting in bad faith with their line of questioning when Rittenhouse was on the stand.
The defense demanded the judge declare a mistrial and prevent the teen from being retried after accusing the chief prosecutor of asking Rittenhouse out-of-bounds questions.
Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is black and a Democratic candidate for US Senate, expressed dismay after Friday’s ruling.
“Over the last few weeks, many dreaded the outcome we just witnessed,” he said.
“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.”
These are the charges the jury considered and found Rittenhouse not guilty of:
- Count 1: First-degree reckless homicide for the death of Rosenbaum, which carried a prison sentence of 60 years.
- Count 2: First-degree recklessly endangering safety for putting witness Richie McGinniss in the line of fire during the Rosenbaum shooting. Punishable by 12 1/2 years.
- Count 3: First-degree recklessly endangering safety for firing two shots at an unknown man and missing, a charge that carried a sentence of 12 1/2 years behind bars.
- Count 4: First-degree intentional homicide for killing Huber. This was the most serious count and carried a mandatory life sentence. But the judge allowed the jury to also consider lesser homicide or reckless-homicide charges in the death.
- Count 5: Attempted first-degree intentional homicide for shooting Grosskreutz in the arm seconds after he shot Huber. The charge carried 60 years in prison, though the jury was allowed to consider lesser charges.
