Friday, a jury in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all charges.
The jury deliberated on five charges against Rittenhouse, all related to Rittenhouse’s activity in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020. He killed two and wounded a third during riots over the injury of Jacob Blake at the hands of police.
Those charges included one count of first degree reckless homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, one count of first-degree intentional homicide, and one charge of attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
Rittenhouse killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and injured Gaige Grosskreutz during the riot.
The trial was mainly focused on whether Rittenhouse acted in self-defense, or whether he provoked the attacks that led to the shootings, thus nullifying his right to self-defense.
It took three and a half days for the 12 jurors, selected at random out of a group of 18 who heard the trial, to come to their decision.
There were reports of jury intimidation during the trial, and Thursday, MSNBC was barred from the courtroom after it was caught sending a freelancer to follow the jury bus Wednesday night.
Throughout the week, Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Antifa protestors gathered outside the Kenosha County Courthouse. Other protestors, including some for advocating Rittenhouse’s freedom, were in the crowd.
Tempers flared a few times while the protestors awaited the verdict.
A 20-year-old man, against Rittenhouse, was arrested Wednesday after stealing a sign from a pro-Rittenhouse protestor, and subsequently body-slamming a member of the media who attempted to intervene.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who gained notoriety after pointing guns at BLM protestors who had gathered outside their St. Louis home, were also among the crowd on several days during jury deliberations.
During the week, Rittenhouse’s defense attorneys filed a motion for a mistrial after the state allegedly concealed evidence from the defense. It filed another motion for a mistrial without prejudice
Judge Bruce Schroeder did not rule on the motions.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Wisconsin Daily Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Kyle Rittenhouse” by Kenosha County Courthouse.
