Kyle Rittenhouse
Criminal defendant and conservative cause célèbre Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, remains free pending trial, but prosecutors managed to add more conditions to his release. In a ruling on Friday, a Wisconsin judge ordered that Rittenhouse cannot possess or drink alcohol, and cannot hang out with bigots.
“The defendant shall not knowingly have contact with any person or group of persons known to harm, threaten, harass or menace others on the basis of their race, beliefs on the subject of religion, color, national origin, or gender,” stated online jail records viewed by Law&Crime.
Rittenhouse, charged with killing two men amid protests over the police shooting of Kenosha man Jacob Blake, was seen at a bar on the day he pleaded not guilty. He drank beers, flashed an “OK” symbol co-opted by white supremacy groups, and was “serenaded” with the official song of the far-right group Proud Boys, according to a filing by the prosecution obtained by WTMJ-TV.
None of this violated the terms of his release on $2 million bond. Even the alcohol drinking was fine under the because his mother was there, which made it legal for this 18-year-old to drink in Wisconsin. Nonetheless, this served as reason for prosecutors to attempt to limit the activities of a defendant who got effusive support and donations, usually, if not always from those on the right-side of the spectrum.
Rittenhouse, who was an Illinois resident, has said he was in the Kenosha area serving as a lifeguard after being on furlough from the YMCA. He was 17 at the time. Protests–and associated rioting–occurred in the wake of the Blake shooting. The defendant, like a number or conservatives and members of so-called militias, showed up in an ostensible effort to protect property. Critics tend to maintain that the “militia” and Rittenhouse were just “looking for trouble.” Trouble is what happened, but Rittenhouse’s defense is arguing that he was just protecting himself from people who were actually causing the trouble.
Rittenhouse got in separate confrontations with Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, on the night of August 25, 2020.
The Rosenbaum shooting, as told in the criminal complaint:
The video shows that as they cross the parking lot, Rosenbaum appears to throw an object at the defendant. The object does not hit the defendant and a second video shows, based on where the object landed, that it was a plastic bag. Rosenbaum appears to be unarmed for the duration of this video. A review of the second video shows that the defendant and Rosenbaum continue to move across the parking lot and approach the front of a black car parked in the lot. A loud bang is heard on the video, then a male shouts, “Fuck you!”, then Rosenbaum appears to continue to approach the defendant and gets in near proximity to the defendant when 4 more loud bangs are heard. Rosenbaum then falls to the ground.
The Huber shooting occurred later, as Rittenhouse was running off:
A second person who was later identified as Anthony Huber approaches the defendant who is still on the ground, on his back. Huber has a skateboard in his right hand. When Huber reaches the defendant it appears that he is reaching for the defendant’s gun with his left hand as the skateboard makes contact with the defendant’s left shoulder. Huber appears to be trying to pull the gun away from the defendant. The defendant rolls towards his left side and as Huber appears to be trying to grab the gun the gun is pointed at Huber’s body. The defendant then fires one round which can be heard on the video. Huber staggers away, taking several steps, then collapses to the ground. Huber subsequently died from this gunshot wound.
Rittenhouse is also charged with shooting Gaige Grosskreutz in the right arm. Grosskreutz survived.
The counts against the defendant are first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person younger than 18. Rittenhouse also faces a citation for failure to comply an emergency management order of state or local government.
[Screengrab via Law&Crime Network]