- Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed two men and wounded a third of them during an anti-racism protest in Kenosha. He testified in a murder trial in Wisconsin.
- Rittenhouse burst into tears, claiming that he had acted to protect himself during the fierce confrontation of the protests.
- At the time, 17-year-old Rittenhouse faced misdemeanor charges of possession of a weapon by a minor and five felonies.
KENOSHA-American teenager Kyle Rittenhouse testified in his murder trial on Wednesday that he shot and killed two men with an AR-15 rifle during chaotic racial justice protests. Injured one-third to protect himself after the attack, and once collapsed the sobbing witness stand.
In the protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year, 18-year-old Rittenhouse described himself in dramatic and risky testimony in his defense, portraying himself as hoping to help others by providing medical assistance and fighting fires. He said he only used his gun after being attacked and ambushed.
The prosecutor tried to portray Rittenhouse as a voluntary police officer who entered an unstable melee with an assault weapon and wanted to use it, asking about his ammunition and his playing violent video games.
“I did what I had to do to stop those who attacked me,” Rittenhouse said when asked by Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger.
“Kill them?” Binger asked.
“Two of them died, but I stopped threats to me,” Rittenhouse replied, his testimony ended in the trial that ended on Wednesday, and the judge said it might end on Monday or Tuesday.
“By using lethal force?” Binger asked.
“I used deadly force,” Rittenhouse said. “…I don’t know if this will kill them. But I used lethal force to stop the threat of attacking me.”
Rittenhouse is accused of killing 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum and 26-year-old Anthony Huber, as well as hurting 27-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz in a protest on August 25, 2020. Rittenhouse, who was 17 years old at the time of the murder, pleaded not guilty.
Split number
Rittenhouse has become a divisive figure, and politics permeates the case. He is a conservative hero who believes in unfettered gun rights and believes that the shootings during the Kenosha chaos are legitimate. Many on the left see Rittenhouse as a symbol of American gun culture.
On the night of the shooting, Kenosha experienced two nights of rioting protests, triggered by the police shooting and killing a black man who was paralyzed from the waist down, Jacob Blake.
Several companies were burned down, and there were looting. The police used rubber bullets and tear gas to control the crowd, including men wearing military equipment and armed with rifles, who confronted demonstrators who sometimes became violent.
Rittenhouse, dressed in a navy blue suit and dark blue tie, initially remained calm on the witness stand until his lawyer asked him to elaborate on his encounter with Rosenbaum, who was shot by Rosenbaum. Four shots. Video evidence shows that Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse and threw a plastic bag at him before the fatal encounter. Rittenhouse said Rosenbaum took his gun.
“I didn’t notice Mr. Rosenbaum until he came out from the back of the car and ambushed me,” Rittenhouse testified, and then he began to breathe, lose his composure, weeping and sobbing, prompting the judge to request a rest.
Some jurors watched him cry with sympathy. Rittenhouse’s mother watched her son sobbing in court.
Earlier that night, Rittenhouse said that Rosenbaum had threatened to kill him twice, first saying that if he caught him alone, he would kill the teenager, and then told the group he was with “I Fuck you to hollow out your heart”. The fiancé of the murdered man testified that Rosenbaum suffered from bipolar disorder.
Rittenhouse faces misdemeanor charges of possession of a weapon by a minor and five felonies.
‘Don’t be brazen’
After Binger asked Rittenhouse about his decision to remain silent until now, which is his right, and after a video recorded two weeks before the shooting, the defense filed a motion for invalidation at the pharmacy.
Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder has ruled that the video is inadmissible. After the jury left the court, he was furious at Binge and said that he would consider this motion for mistrial.
“When you say you acted in good faith, I don’t believe you,” the judge said to Bingcu.
The prosecutor put pressure on Rittenhouse, asking him why he should personally carry the gun and provide assistance normally provided by local authorities in dangerous situations.
The teenager who had participated in some first aid courses brought a medical kit and testified that he would help people with minor injuries. He said he was there to help guard a used car dealership.
Rittenhouse testified:
I brought a gun to protect myself.
“I didn’t want to kill anyone that night.”
Rittenhouse said that when he shot Rosenbaum, he thought of the earlier threats and was moved by another nearby man, Joshua Ziminski, who shot him. Rosenbaum also wrapped his red shirt around his head and covered his face.
Binger repeatedly asked Rittenhouse whether he knew the power of his rifle, and whether Rosenbaum and others regarded him as a threat as well. Although he admitted that Rosenbaum was unarmed, he replied that he had no choice.
“I pointed at him because he kept running towards me and I didn’t want him to chase me,” Rittenhouse said.
He continued:
I continued to shoot until he no longer threatened me.
Rittenhouse said he shot Huber who was swinging his skateboard at him because he drew his rifle and shot at Grosskrutz, who was holding a pistol, because he aimed the pistol “directly” at the boy Head.
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