Kyle Rittenhouse, the youngster involved in shooting two men to death during protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of Jacob Blake last year has been found not guilty.
Kyle Rittenhouse who was 17 at the time of the incident was accused in the shooting deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, Anthony Huber, 26, and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, 27. But with the acquittal, the state’s case against him ends and there can be no retrial.
Although Kyle Rittenhouse maintained in his testimony, in which he broke down in tears, that he was defending himself from attackers, prosecutors asserted that had he not come ot Kenosha in the first place looking for trouble, he would not have found it.
“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,” Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger told jurors in closing arguments, calling Rittenhouse a “wannabe soldier.”
But Kyle Rittenhouse defense attorney Mark Richards countered that argument saying that Kyle Rittenhouse was in a life or death situation and had little choice but to open fire.
“Mr. Rosenbaum was shot because he was chasing my client and going to kill him, take his gun and carry out the threats he made,” said Richards, who had painted Rittenhouse as someone who was trying to help the community and whose intentions for even traveling there were good. He also argued that Rittenhouse’s actions were legal. “There was no threatening behavior that started this. Mr. Rosenbaum was hell bent on causing trouble that night. But Kyle Rittenhouse’s behavior was protected under the law of the state of Wisconsin.”
Standing before the jury as each not guilty verdict was read, Kyle Rittenhouse broke down in tears. By the last verdict, he appeared to collapse. He was helped up and given water. Rittenhouse hugged one of his attorneys with both tears and a large smile
