by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other cases involving the police use of force against Black people. The bloodshed in Kenosha took place during a summer of sometimes-violent protests set off across the U.S. The exact racial makeup of the Rittenhouse jury wasn’t clear because jurors were not asked about their race in court. 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. 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. He said he was afraid his rifle was going to be wrested away and used to kill him. I defended myself.”īreaking into sobs at one point, he told the jury he opened fire after Rosenbaum chased him and made a grab for his gun. 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.īut Rittenhouse testified: “I didn’t do anything wrong. 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.Ĭarrying 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.īystander 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. Tony Evers pleaded for calm and said 500 National Guard members would be ready for duty in Kenosha if needed. “Thankfully, the jury thought the same.”Īs the outcome drew near, Gov. “All of us who knew what actually happened in Kenosha last year assumed this would be the verdict,” tweeted Republican former Wisconsin Gov. Political figures on the right, meanwhile, welcomed the verdict and condemned the case brought against Rittenhouse. 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.” “The presumption of innocence until proven guilty is what we should expect from our judicial system, but that standard is not always applied equally. “Over the last few weeks, many dreaded the outcome we just witnessed,” Barnes said. Mandela Barnes, who is Black and a Democratic candidate for U.S. Rittenhouse’s mother, sitting several feet away from him on a courtroom bench, gasped in delight and began crying as the clerk read out the string of five not-guilty verdicts, hugging others around her. In reaction to the verdict, prosecutor Thomas Binger said the jury had spoken. 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.Īs he dismissed the jurors, Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder assured them the court would take “every measure” to keep them safe.Ī sheriff’s deputy immediately whisked Rittenhouse out a back door through the judge’s chambers. The jury, which appeared to be overwhelmingly white, deliberated for close to 3 1/2 days. The former police youth cadet is white, as were those he shot. 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. Rittenhouse, 18, began to choke up, fell to the floor and then hugged one of his attorneys upon hearing the verdict. 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. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool) Kyle Rittenhouse hugs one of his attorneys, Corey Chirafisi, after he is found not guilt on all counts at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Friday, Nov.
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