Judge Bruce Schroeder, on November 15, dismissed a misdemeanor weapons charge against Rittenhouse right before the closing arguments. Rittenhouse was charged with possessing a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, which carries a fine of up to $10,000 and a nine-month jail term.
The boy had faced other five felony counts, and if he’s convicted on the most serious charge, he could end up being his whole life in prison.
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His lawyers argued that Wisconsin’s statute has an exception involving the barrel length of the rifle/ shotgun that could be read to clear Rittenhouse of the weapon charge.
“I have big problems with this statute; I’ve made no bones about that from the beginning,” the judge said in the courtroom.
The defendant was caught on video crying before the shooting. He stated that he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed two people and injured a third one in August 2020.
Last week, Rittenhouse, a former firefighter EMT, testified that he shot Anthony Huber, Gaige Grosskreutz, and Joseph Rosenbaum in self-defense as they and many others attacked him. One night prior to the shooting, he stated that he wanted to provide first aid to the individuals and defend businesses from arsonists and vandals.
“I didn’t intend to kill them. I intended to stop the people who were attacking me,” Rittenhouse said when questioned by prosecutors.
Bystander video tells us that Rosenbaum was chasing Rittenhouse and threw some object at him. The teen was running and hiding behind a car as Rosenbaum pursued him.
McGinniss, a reporter who was following Rittenhouse and Rosenbaum, testified last week and stated that Rosenbaum wanted to take Rittenhouse’s gun.
Drew Hernandez testified that he saw Rittenhouse trying to diffuse and deescalate the situation.
“I didn’t intend to kill them. I intended to stop the people who were attacking me,” Rittenhouse said when questioned by prosecutors.
Prosecutors asked Schroeder to allow the jury to consider a lesser charge, second–degree reckless homicide, which doesn’t require them to find that Rittenhouse acted with utter disregard for human life.
This crime is punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
Rittenhouse’s lawyers objected; Schroeder stated that he didn’t plan to give that instruction. He stated that he expects a guilty verdict on that count would be overturned because the defense objected to adding it.
“If he had to do it all over again, he probably would not go down to Kenosha. Kyle’s nature is to help people,” Wendy Rittenhouse said in the interview.
“He brung that gun for protection, and to this day, if he didn’t have that gun, my son would’ve been dead,” she said, adding that “a lot of people shouldn’t have been” in Kenosha.
“The Kenosha community has been strong, resilient, and has come together through incredibly difficult times these past two years, and that healing is still ongoing,” Evers said in a November 12 statement. “I urge folks who are otherwise not from the area to please respect the community by reconsidering any plans to travel there and encourage those who might choose to assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights to do so safely and peacefully.”
