MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge has approved an agreement by lawyers to destroy the assault-style rifle that Kyle Rittenhouse used to shoot three people during a 2020 street protest.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said the state crime lab would destroy the gun, probably in April.

Judge Bruce Schroeder, the Kenosha County judge who presided over Rittenhouse’s trial, approved the agreement.

Rittenhouse’s attorney had filed a motion asking prosecutors to return Rittenhouse’s rifle, his ammunition, his face mask and other clothing he was wearing the night of the shooting to him.

A spokesman for Rittenhouse said last week that Rittenhouse, who is now 19, wanted to destroy the rifle so nothing can be used as a political symbol or trophy celebrating the shootings.

Late last year, Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all counts in connection with three shootings that took place amid protests against police brutality in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Two people were killed and a third person was injured.

Rittenhouse was 17 and had traveled state lines to patrol the protests. Jurors found that he had fired his weapon in self-defense.

Rittenhouse had faced charges of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.

Over the last two years, we’ve seen a rise in social justice movements dealing with race and policing.

These issues took center stage this year in high-profile court cases, and experts say they could have an impact on legislation and elections in 2022.

In 2021, we saw trials, stemming from the deadly police incidents that sparked protests.

The convictions of former Minnesota police officers Derek Chauvin and Kim Potter grabbed the nation’s attention. A jury found Chauvin guilty on all charges in the death of George Floyd. A jury found Potter guilty of manslaughter in the death of Daunte Wright.

"This is certainly the year where we’re seeing some type of police accountability," said Jason Williams, an associate professor of Justice Studies at Montclair State University.

He said these verdicts will keep social justice in the spotlight for 2022

However, Williams said another big verdict - the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse - is sure to have an impact in the new year, too.

"It seems to give the green light to far-right vigilantes to attend these types of demonstrations," he said. "We may see more of those instances."

Rittenhouse successfully claimed self-defense after shooting and killing two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin and injuring a third during civil unrest following a police shooting.

"I think going into the next year we really need to pay closer attention to it, especially given the Rittenhouse verdict," Williams said.

The professor also predicts it could bring proposals for changes to gun laws and even self-defense laws at the state level in the new year.

"It's hard to decipher sometimes between the rhetoric, meaning like is the politician just going to sprout rhetoric or are they actually going to do something about it," Williams said.

When it comes to the 2022 midterm elections, Williams said all of these cases will continue to play out in a big way.

"Unfortunately, policing issues continue to be a very big political wedge and both parties will tend to use them to their advantage to gain some type of movement with their base," he said.

There’s another big topic leading up to the midterms.

"Voter rights are being shown to be sort of the quintessential issue, especially as the January 6th fiasco continues to unravel," Williams said.

Williams said political parties will likely rally even more to get supporters to the polls.

He adds other social justice issues like the student loan debt crisis, the fight over K-12 education curriculum and women’s rights will likely get more attention in 2022 as well.

"I do think going into this next year there’s going to be some pressures from all kinds of advocacy groups,” Williams said.

KENOSHA, Wis. —

In the days following the not guilty verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, clerks filed more than 100 pages of letters to the court expressing praise and anger.

Copies of the letters, obtained by sister station WISN, show some of them were written as the jury deliberated Rittenhouse's fate and after the jurors acquitted the now 18-year-old from Illinois.

The letters were from at least 22 states outside Wisconsin and mainly focused on the polarizing circuit judge, Bruce Schroeder.

"If it had not been for you, that precious, intelligent, wholesome, motivated & alltogether [sic] adorable young man would have been a life wasted," a woman from Ohio wrote.

One of the most high-profile letters of support came from a special prosecutor in Louisiana, Hugo Holland, who also had previously been forced to resign in a firearms acquisition scandal.

"I would not have even bothered to take the Rittenhouse case to a grand jury. I would have pronounced it a good shoot and been done with it," Holland wrote to Schroeder.

The judge did receive several letters from critics as well.

A person from Ohio voiced their "displeasure towards Bruce E. Schroeder because of his obvious and blatant ways of favoritism that he has shown towards the defense."

The person added, "I hope this old and senile person who claims to be a man of the law can rest his head at night..."

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A man watching the trial from New Mexico took his criticism further, writing, "It is disgraceful to interrupt justice as it appears you are trying to do."

He added, "I am going to write to the board of judicial review and ask that you be seriously reviewed by them."

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Among the 115 pages filed Nov. 22 and 23 were two letters addressed to Rittenhouse directly.

"If I had been your father, I never would have let you go downtown," a man from New York wrote to Rittenhouse.

He added in the next sentence he thought Rittenhouse's intentions were "laudable and well meaning."

Investigative producer Jennie Fritz contributed to this report.

CINCINNATI — A Kenosha, Wisconsin, jury found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts in connection with an August 2020 shooting that killed two men during protests against police brutality.

The case ignited debates on gun rights and self defense across the country, with Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters saying the then 17-year-old "would've never been charged" if the shooting happened in the area.

Rittenhouse faced intentional and reckless homicide charges, as well as recklessly endangering safety. Deters said the law for self defense is clear, and said he believes the prosecutor overseeing the case acted irresponsibly to bring charges.

"[The] prosecutor is either spineless or an idiot," Deters said. "It's embarrassing to prosecutors around the country — know the law, know how it should be even-handed. No matter who is being shot, who shoots, that's not the issue. What color they are, if they're gay, it doesn't matter."

Deters said it is clear Rittenhouse acted to protect himself, something attorney Carl Lewis agrees with.

"I think he responded to what he thought was a threat," Lewis said. "You have the right to bear arms."

Lewis said the Rittenhouse trial came down to reasonable doubt.

"[I'm] shocked and not shocked," Lewis said. "Surprised he wasn't convicted of a lesser. Not shocked from a lawyer's perspective, because it's proof beyond a reasonable doubt. That case was filled with reasonable doubt."

Lewis said Rittenhouse carrying a loaded gun to Kenosha amid protests might have been a recipe for disaster, but it does not mean he was criminally reckless.

"He's carrying a weapon, something happens, he defends himself," Lewis said. "I don't think that's reckless. Some say he was running down the street, there was a protest — a mob scene."

Deters said "every piece of evidence points to self-defense."

"If this happened in Hamilton County, he would've never been charged at all," Deters said.

The family of Anthony Huber, a man Rittenhouse killed in the shooting, released a statement shortly after the verdict was read, saying they were "heartbroken" and "angry" he was found not guilty.

"It sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street," the statement read.

President Joe Biden said in a statement the verdict "will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included," but said "I stand by what the jury has concluded."

RELATED: Kyle Rittenhouse found not guilty on all charges in homicide case
RELATED: Wisconsin governor authorizes National Guard to support Kenosha ahead of Rittenhouse verdict

WILMINGTON, Del. —

A difficult political atmosphere for President Joe Biden may have become even more treacherous with the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse.

Biden was already facing sliding poll numbers with an electorate worn down by the coronavirus pandemic and increasing inflation. Now, the president finds himself caught between outraged Democrats — some of whom were already stewing over Biden’s inability to land police reform and voting rights legislation — and Republicans looking to use the Rittenhouse case to exploit the national divide over matters of grievance and race.

“This is one of the last things Biden wants to be engaging in at this moment as he tries to finish up the big Build Back Better bill and get that across the finish line through the Senate,” said Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. “Race and Kyle Rittenhouse is not the space where he wants or needs to be going deep right now.”

The acquittal of Rittenhouse has touched off new conversations about racial justice, vigilantism and policing in America. The Illinois teen armed himself with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle during an August 2020 protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, days after the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer. He said he came to the small city to help protect a car lot from vandals and provide medical aid.

Rittenhouse would end up fatally shooting two men and maiming a third. Rittenhouse and his lawyers successfully argued that he had acted in self-defense during a confrontation in which he feared for his life.

The verdict in the case comes at a moment when Biden is trying to keep fellow Democrats focused on passing his massive social services and climate bill and hoping to turn the tide with Americans who have soured on his performance as president.

The president responded carefully following Friday's verdict, expressing respect for the jury’s decision. He later added in a written statement that, like many Americans, he was “angry and concerned” with the jury acquittal of Rittenhouse.

Meanwhile, Republicans, who had success in this month’s Virginia election in part by accusing Democrats of promoting critical race theory in public schools, are embracing 18-year-old Rittenhouse as their newest hero in America’s culture wars.

GOP Reps. Paul Gosar of Arizona and Matt Gaetz of Florida have said they’d like to hire him as an intern, with Gosar suggesting they arm wrestle for the honor. Another Republican, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, on Saturday predicted that liberal outrage over the Rittenhouse trial would benefit her party.

“It seems liberals want self-defense to be illegal,” Boebert tweeted. “Try running on that in 2022 and see how far it gets you with the majority of the sane American public.”

Former President Donald Trump was quick to stand with Rittenhouse following the verdict. He called the teen “brave” for testifying in his own defense and accused the left of trying “to fan hatred” with its treatment of Rittenhouse.

Trump has spent much of his post-presidency stoking divisions with his frontal criticism of Biden and of any Republican who has not marched in lockstep with his views. And most Republicans, either through silence or direct endorsement, have followed his lead.

In the aftermath of the acquittal, Republicans have highlighted a tweet by Biden during his winning 2020 presidential campaign in which he appeared to suggest that Rittenhouse was a white supremacist.

The tweet, from September 2020, excoriated Trump for failing “to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage” the previous night and included a video that contained a still image of Rittenhouse from the night of the Kenosha shooting and footage of torch-bearing white supremacists at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel are among party officials who have called on Biden to apologize.

“He smeared a teenager to score political points and spread lies about this case,” McDaniel wrote on Twitter. “What Biden did was dangerous and inflammatory.”

Asked by a reporter soon after the verdict if he stood by his campaign social media posting, Biden responded that “I stand by what the jury has concluded.”

Borick, the Muhlenberg College pollster, said the results of this month’s elections in Virginia show that driving at cultural issues — including race and transgender rights — could be a good strategy for Republicans trying to energize a segment of the electorate that was passionate about Trump but less enthusiastic about the rest of the GOP. But Borick warned that the GOP’s fulsome embrace of Rittenhouse wasn’t without risk.

“I don’t know if it’s a great place to be if you’re trying, come the midterms, to reach suburban voters and educated voters who might not fault the decision to acquit Rittenhouse because of the circumstances but are far from comfortable holding him up as a hero,” Borick said.

Even before the verdict, Biden had been facing increased pressure from some Democrats over the lack of progress on passing voting rights and police reform legislation.

Last month, a day after Senate Republicans filibustered a major voting bill for the second time this year, Biden acknowledged that the process of governing could be “frustrating and sometimes dispiriting” but urged supporters to “keep the faith.”

At the same, civil rights leaders have expressed frustration that Biden has not used the power of the bully pulpit more to push for a broad police reform bill named after George Floyd, the Black Minneapolis man whose killing last year by police touched off protests around the U.S.

Speaking at an event earlier this week where he signed into law a trio of bills to increase aid to police, Biden only made passing mention of the George Floyd act, asking legislators from both parties to work together to make it law.

“That’s next,” Biden said.

KENOSHA, Wis. — Jacob Blake, the Black man shot by Kenosha police in August 2020, recently told TMZ that he believes if Kyle Rittenhouse were a different ethnicity, "he'd be gone."

Rittenhouse was found not guilty on Friday on five counts linked to two fatal shootings amid protests against police brutality sparked by the shooting of Blake.

"I do still feel very strongly that if he was a different ethnicity or people/group, he'd be gone. There wouldn't be no 'he's a hero' and this that and the third," Blake told TMZ on Thursday. "They would have said, 'He's underage, he traveled to a different state with a firearm that didn't belong to him.'"

Rittenhouse and his defense team argued the then 17-year-old fired an AR-15 style rifle in self-defense. Prosecutors argued Rittenhouse was the instigator and aggressor in the incident.

Blake was shot last August when Kenosha police responded to a domestic incident. Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey shot Blake seven times in the back, paralyzing Blake from the waist down.

Police say they thought Blake was reaching for a knife. Sheskey was not criminally charged for the incident.

Blake's supporters have fought back against the narrative that he was a threat to the officers.

Mark Hertzberg/AP

During the TMZ interview, Blake was asked about the role of race in the Rittenhouse shooting.

"The high fives, he was caught throwing up the Aryan nation [hand sign], the judge seems like he really likes the guy [Rittenhouse]," he said. "Honestly the kid [Rittenhouse] might not be a bad person. I'm not saying he's a bad person at all, but what he did — he shouldn't have been there. He shouldn't have been there."

"I wish this didn't happen to me," he said. "But I also wish that it didn't escalate to the point where it caused a riot. I am not happy about that. But what can we do. The world — this type of stuff been going on for a long time."

Adam Rogan/The Journal Times via AP, File

Blake mentioned he turned 30 years old this year. He added he was born the same year that the police beating of Rodney King was videotaped, sparking riots in Los Angeles.

"It's just ironic 30 years later, here I am," Blake said.

Blake then returned to the topic of Rittenhouse.

"We know that he shouldn't have been out there," he said. "No matter if these people tried to kick him in the face, hit him with a skateboard, and there was even a guy he shot in the arm. The other guy had a gun — he didn't even shoot him. He could have opened fire on him easily. You know he was right there. He chose not to shoot him. The guy that he shot seems like a very stand up individual."

@rellovejones, @money_mike_la via attorney Ben Crump

Blake's recovery from his shooting continues. He told TMZ he had forgiven Sheskey, but the injuries continue to bring him pain.

This story was originally published by Jackson Danbeck on Scripps station TMJ4 in Milwaukee.

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse’s attorneys have asked the judge to declare a mistrial before the jury reaches a decision, saying the defense received an inferior copy of a key video from prosecutors.

Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi told Judge Bruce Schroeder on Wednesday that the defense would have approached things differently if it had received the higher quality video earlier.

Chirafisi says the request would be made “without prejudice,” meaning prosecutors could try Rittenhouse again if the judge were to grant the request.

Prosecutors countered that the jury saw the highest-quality version of the video during the trial and it was played without objection.

Schroeder did not immediately rule on the mistrial request.

The jury is continuing to deliberate. They were handed the case Tuesday after two weeks of testimony in which they were given starkly different portrayals of Rittenhouse's actions the night he shot three men on the streets of Kenosha.

Rittenhouse, then 17, shot two men to death and wounded a third during a tumultuous night of protests against racial injustice in the summer of 2020.

Prosecutors say Rittenhouse was a “wannabe soldier” who provoked a confrontation, while the defense says he feared for his life and acted in self-defense after being ambushed by a “crazy person.”

KENOSHA, Wis. — Hannah Gittings and her boyfriend, Anthony Huber, were in Kenosha protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Aug. 25, 2020. That night, Huber was shot and killed.

Gittings is now back in Kenosha awaiting a verdict in the trial of the man who pulled the trigger, 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse.

Tuesday saw tense moments outside of the Kenosha County Courthouse. For Gittings, it brings back feelings of when she last saw her boyfriend.

"It's been more dramatic than I thought it was going to be. We all knew the trial was coming, obviously," Gittings said.

Rittenhouse's defense team says Huber attacked Rittenhouse with a skateboard, and Rittenhouse killed Huber in self-defense. The prosecution and Gittings said Huber was trying to disarm Rittenhouse.

Gittings said she expected Huber's actions to be more of a focus during the trial.

TMJ4

"I just feel he was so underrepresented in this trial and I don't think that's fair, because what he did was assess an active-shooter situation, and he was just that type of man," Gittings said. "If he could've gotten that gun away, he would've held on to it. I don't think he would've thrown it. But clearly his main goal was to just stop this kid from doing what he just done, which was murdering Joseph Rosenbaum."

Rittenhouse faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and failure to comply with an emergency order. He faces life in prison if convicted of the intentional homicide count.

This story was originally published by Tony Atkins on Scripps station TMJ4 in Milwaukee.

KENOSHA, Wis. — The Kenosha County Sheriff's Department and Kenosha Police Department say there is no reason to close roads or enact a curfew ahead of a verdict being returned in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, according to a joint statement issued Tuesday.

"At this time, we have no reason to facilitate road closures, enact curfews or ask our communities to modify their daily routines," the statement said.

The joint statement goes on to say that the two agencies "understand and recognize the anxiety" surrounding the trial but that such measures are not needed, at least not now.

"Our departments have worked together and made coordinated efforts over the last year to improve response capabilities to large-scale events," the statement says. "We have also strengthened our existing relationships with State and Federal resources."

The statement concluded by saying both agencies will continue to be engaged with community leaders about the trial.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has already called on the Wisconsin National Guard to assist local law enforcement in anticipation of potential unrest in the city following the jury's decision.

The jury in Rittenhouse's trial began deliberations Tuesday morning after a full day of closing arguments and jury instructions on Monday.

Rittenhouse selects numbers of dismissed jurors

The judge had Rittenhouse draw slips from a raffle drum to select alternate jurors who will be dismissed before deliberations. Eighteen jurors sat through two weeks of testimony.

The jurors must decide if Rittenhouse is responsible for the deaths of the two protesters he shot on Aug. 25, 2020, amid at times violent demonstrations against police brutality following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Rittenhouse faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety. He faces life in prison if convicted on one of the intentional homicide counts.

This story was originally published by Scripps station TMJ4 in Milwaukee.

KENOSHA, Wis. —

The judge at Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial on Monday dismissed a count of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, a misdemeanor that had appeared to be among the likeliest of the charges to net a conviction for prosecutors.

The judge then launched into 36 pages of legal instructions to the jury, explaining the charges and the laws of self-defense. After that, the two sides were expected to deliver closing arguments, the final word before the jury was to begin deliberations.

Rittenhouse, 18, killed two men and wounded a third in the summer of 2020 during a turbulent protest against racial injustice, in a case that has underscored bitter division in the U.S. over guns, protests and law and order.

He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison if convicted of the most serious charge against him, first-degree intentional homicide.

The underage weapon charge was punishable by up to nine months in jail.

There is no dispute that Rittenhouse was 17 when he carried an AR-style semi-automatic rifle on the streets of Kenosha and used it.

But the defense argued that Wisconsin law had an exception that could be read to clear Rittenhouse. After prosecutors conceded on Monday that Rittenhouse’s rifle was not short-barreled, Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed the charge.

Public interest in closing arguments was evident Monday morning, when more people than usual stood in a line outside Courtroom 209 to get a seat. The first one in line was a man in a red hat and red coat bedecked with silver glitter. Outside, someone erected a cutout of Rittenhouse, and a man stood on a corner waving an upside-down American flag.

Rittenhouse's mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, listened intently in court during the jury instructions.

Rittenhouse traveled the few miles from his home to Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020, as the city was in the throes of damaging protests that erupted after a white police officer' shot and wounded Jacob Blake, a Black man. He said he went there to protect property.

Bystander video captured the critical minutes when Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 28.

Rittenhouse is white, as are the three men he shot. The case raised questions about racial justice, vigilantism, the Second Amendment right to bear arms, and white privilege that polarized people far beyond Kenosha.

Rittenhouse testified that he feared for his and life and acted in self-defense. Prosecutors have contended he was the aggressor that night and created a dangerous situation by showing up with a rifle.

But some of the prosecution's own witnesses — and a wealth of video — largely supported his claims of self-defense.

Perhaps in recognition of that, prosecutors asked the judge to let the jury consider several lesser charges if they acquit him on the original counts. Schroeder agreed to do so Monday.

In his instructions to the jury, the judge said that to decide that Rittenhouse acted lawfully in self-defense, the jury must find that he believed there was an actual or imminent unlawful threat to him and that the amount of force he used was reasonable and necessary.

Among the prosecution witnesses was videographer Richie McGinniss, who testified that Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse and lunged for his rifle right before Rittenhouse shot him. Ryan Balch, a military veteran in Rittenhouse’s group that night, testified that Rosenbaum threatened to kill Rittenhouse and others if he got them alone.

Grosskreutz, the only man shot who survived, acknowledged that he had a gun in his hand as he approached Rittenhouse and that it was pointed at him.

As for Huber, he hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard before he was gunned down.

Among the trial's most compelling moments was Rittenhouse's own testimony. In some six hours on the stand — most of it poised and matter-of-fact — he said he was afraid Rosenbaum would take away his gun and shoot him and others. He said he never wanted to kill anyone.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself," Rittenhouse said.

After closing arguments, names were to be drawn to determine which 12 of the 18 jurors who heard testimony will deliberate, with the rest dismissed as alternates.

With a verdict near, Gov. Tony Evers said that 500 National Guard members would be prepared for duty in Kenosha if local law enforcement requested them.

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — The jury that will decide Kyle Rittenhouse’s fate will be allowed to consider some lesser charges if they opt to acquit him on some of the original counts prosecutors brought.

After fierce debate between prosecutors and attorneys for Rittenhouse, Judge Bruce Schroeder said he would issue final rulings on Saturday about which lesser charges the jury could consider.

Rittenhouse faces five felony charges stemming from the shooting amid protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

The jury was not in the courtroom for Friday's debate. They will return Monday for closing arguments.

KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced Friday that approximately 500 troops from the Wisconsin Army National Guard have been authorized to support authorities in Kenosha following the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse.

Members of the National Guard will stage outside Kenosha in a standby status to respond if requested by local law enforcement agencies, officials say. The Rittenhouse trial has entered its final stages.

“We continue to be in close contact with our partners at the local level to ensure the state provides support and resources to help keep the Kenosha community and greater area safe,” said Gov. Evers. “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. 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.”

Maj. Gen. Paul Knapp, Wisconsin's adjutant general, said the National Guard is ready to support communities during times of need.

“In close coordination with the governor, we have assembled approximately 500 soldiers to help keep the Kenosha community safe, should a request from our local partners come in," Knapp said.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys for Rittenhouse returned to the courthouse without the jury present on Friday to finalize how jurors will be instructed when they get the case next week and begin deliberating.

Jury instructions will be worked out on Friday, and closing arguments are expected on Monday.

This story was originally published by staff at WTMJ.

KENOSHA, Wis. —

Kyle Rittenhouse's defense team rested its case Thursday afternoon and the body of evidence is now closed.

The judge gave the jury Friday off while the prosecution and defense agree on final instructions.

"Even though evidence is closed it is not appropriate to discuss with anybody." Judge Bruce Schroeder told the jury.

Prosecutors said they will ask the judge to allow the jury to consider lesser charges on some of the most serious homicide charges.

Schroeder said they will begin again Monday morning with jury instructions.

That is expected to take up to an hour.

The state will then present its closing arguments.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger said he expected that to take up to two hours.

Defense attorney Mark Richards said he expected his closing arguments to take about 90 minutes.

The state will then have a final rebuttal, which Binger said could take up to an additional 30 minutes.

The judge said he would allow each side to have up to 2.5 hours total for their closing arguments.

He will then draw 12 numbers to decide the final jurors who will decide the case.

Those jurors will then begin their deliberations.

KENOSHA, Wis. — The prosecution rested its case Tuesday in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old accused of shooting three protesters — two of them fatally — during demonstrations against police brutality following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha in August 2020.

Over five-and-a-half days, the prosecution attempted to paint Rittenhouse as the aggressor in the incidents that led to the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber.

On Tuesday, Dr. Doug Kelley of the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office testified that Rosenbaum, the first man killed by Rittenhouse, was shot at close range of just a few feet. He also said Rosenbaum had soot injuries that could indicate he had his hand over the barrel of Rittenhouse's gun.

However, Kelley said it was unclear from video footage whether Rosenbaum was grabbing for Rittenhouse's gun or trying to swat it away.

His testimony came after the jury watched a drone video that showed Rittenhouse wheeling around and shooting Rosenbaum at close range.

On Monday, Gaige Grosskreutz — who survived after being shot by Rittenhouse — took the stand and testified that he thought he was going to die after being shot by Rittenhouse. Under cross-examination, he testified that Rittenhouse had only shot him after he pointed his own weapon at Rittenhouse.

Lawyers for Rittenhouse began presenting their case to the jury Tuesday afternoon. According to CNN, the defense called four people to testify, including two people who were armed on the night of the shooting in Kenosha.

Nicholas Smith claimed that the owners of a car dealership asked them to protect his business. However, the owner of the dealership testified earlier that he never asked for their protection, CNN reports.

Rittenhouse faces five felony charges: first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety. He faces life in prison if convicted on one of the homicide counts against him.

KENOSHA, Wis. —

A man who suffered a severe arm injury when he was shot by Kyle Rittenhouse during a night of protests against racial injustice is expected to testify this week as prosecutors near the end of their case in Rittenhouse's murder trial.

Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, who had a gun in his hand as he stepped toward Rittenhouse, was shot in the arm moments after Rittenhouse fatally shot two others in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Testimony during the first week of Rittenhouse's trial showed bystanders came to Grosskreutz's aid and placed a tourniquet on his arm before loading him into a vehicle that rushed him to a hospital.

Rittenhouse, 18, is charged with shooting Grosskreutz and fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber on Aug. 25, 2020. The one-time police youth cadet from Antioch, Illinois, was 17 when he went to Kenosha with an AR-style rifle and a medical kit in what he said was an effort to safeguard property from the demonstrations that broke out over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by a white Kenosha police officer.

Rittenhouse is white, as are the three men he shot, but the case has raised polarizing questions about racial justice, policing, firearms and white privilege.

In the first week of Rittenhouse's trial, prosecutors played numerous videos that showed the events of that night from different angles. Jurors heard testimony from people who were with Rittenhouse, as well as from police officers and loved ones of the men who died.

Jason Lackowski, a former Marine who was on the streets of Kenosha carrying his own rifle, testified Friday about Rosenbaum, the first man Rittenhouse shot. Lackowski said Rosenbaum was acting "belligerently" but did not appear to pose a serious threat.

Lackowski said he considered Rosenbaum a "babbling idiot," and turned his back and ignored him. He acknowledged that he didn't see everything that went on between Rittenhouse and Rosenbaum, including their final clash.

Other witnesses testified last week that a "hyperaggressive" Rosenbaum angrily threatened to kill Rittenhouse that night and that Rosenbaum was gunned down after he chased Rittenhouse and lunged for his rifle.

Prosecutors have portrayed Rittenhouse as the instigator of the bloodshed as well as an inexperienced teen who misrepresented his age and medical training to others that night. Rittenhouse's lawyer has argued that he acted in self-defense, suggesting among other things that Rittenhouse feared his weapon would be taken and used against him.

The prosecution suffered a potential blow when Rosenbaum's fiancée, Kariann Swart, disclosed that he was on medication for bipolar disorder and depression but hadn't filled his prescriptions because the local pharmacy was boarded up due to the unrest — information Rittenhouse's lawyers could use in their bid to portray Rosenbaum as the aggressor.

On the day he was killed, Rosenbaum, 36, had been released from a Milwaukee hospital. The jury was told that much, but not why he had been admitted — after a suicide attempt.

Rosenbaum's killing has emerged as one of the most crucial moments that night because it set in motion the bloodshed that followed moments later.

Rittenhouse shot and killed Huber, a 26-year-old protester seen on bystander video hitting Rittenhouse with a skateboard. Rittenhouse then wounded Grosskreutz.

Rittenhouse could get life in prison if convicted. The case has stirred furious debate over self-defense, vigilantism, the right to bear arms and the racial unrest that erupted around the U.S. after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and similar cases.

Two jurors were also dismissed last week. One man was dismissed for potential bias after he told a joke about the Blake shooting to a court security officer, and a woman who is pregnant was dismissed after she said she was experiencing some discomfort. Eighteen jurors remain, and 12 will ultimately be picked to deliberate.

A juror who had been selected to decide the fate of Kyle Rittenhouse was dismissed from the trial Thursday after it was revealed he had made a joke about the police shooting of Jacob Blake to a sheriff's deputy earlier this week.

Rittenhouse is currently being tried on several felony homicide counts linked to a shooting that left two people dead amid protests that sprung up in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following Blake's shooting in August 2020.

According to Scripps station TMJ4 in Milwaukee, Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said Thursday that the juror told the deputy, "Why did Kenosha Police shoot Jacob Blake seven times? They ran out of bullets."

Bringer claimed that the statement showed racial bias.

Judge Bruce Schroeder then dismissed the juror from the 12-person panel.

"The public needs to be confident this is a fair trial," Schroeder said.

He added the joke showed "at the very least, bad judgment."

On Monday, Rittenhouse's trial opened with the selection of 20 people to serve as jurors — 12 regular jurors and eight alternates. One of the alternates will presumably take the dismissed juror's place.

Rittenhouse was 17 when he traveled from his home in northern Illinois to Kenosha during the protests. He claims he went to Kenosha to help business owners protect against looting that was taking place amid the protests.

During the protests, Rittenhouse shot and killed protesters Anthony M. Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum during those demonstrations and injured one other person. His defense team has argued that he fired in self-defense after protesters surrounded him.

This story was originally published by Scripps station TMJ4 in Milwaukee.

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The trial for a man charged with killing two men and wounding a third with an assault-style rifle during protests last summer began Tuesday morning in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Kyle Rittenhouse, now 18, formerly of Antioch, Illinois, has been charged with six felonies and one misdemeanor.

He has pleaded not guilty by self-defense in the August 2020 shootings of three men as protests ensued after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Two of those victims died.

Witness: Martin Howard

Kenosha Police Detective Martin Howard is on the witness stand.

He was assigned to surveillance in squad cars to watch crowds on the night of Aug. 25.

Howard said he went to gas stations to shut off pumps to prevent arsons.

He testified he was also stationed near the interstate off ramps, looking for groups of cars getting off in Kenosha, possibly with license plates removed.

Howard is one of the lead detectives on the homicide case.

A lot of jurors were taking vigorous notes as Howard is on the stand.

Howard testified about when he went to interview Rittenhouse after he turned himself into police in Antioch, Illinois.

He said Rittenhouse had a few cuts, scrapes, and small bumps on the head.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger showed the jury another livestream video from TheRundownLive but the defense objected to audio from the man recording the video, saying it's editorialization.

The judge said the defendant's statements are allowed.

Witness: Koerri Washington

The prosecution's third witness was self-described social media influencer Koerri Washington, of Kenosha.

He began his testimony Tuesday afternoon.

"In my opinion, people like myself make things better for everyone because it helps show another side of the full picture," Washington said.

He said he followed the protests after the Blake shooting to document what happened.

The jury watched as the prosecution played a portion of Washington's Facebook Live video from the night of Aug. 25.

His video shows a crowd yelling at a group of armed men, including Rittenhouse, who was smoking a cigarette while holding the AR-15.

Washington's testimony continued Wednesday morning.

Jurors began the day watching two monitors just outside the jury box as prosecutors seek to enter extensive video they say will support their case.

Just before the trial started, Rittenhouse's mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, walked over to her son at the defense table to speak with him and a lawyer.

Rittenhouse, in a blue suit and tie, hunched forward at the defense table to watch the same video as jurors on a desktop screen.

Many jurors jotted down extensive notes when testimony turned to levels of violence at the Kenosha protests.

They seemed especially attentive when a defense attorney during a cross-examination displayed video of dozens of cars ablaze in a Car Source lot the day before the shootings, orange flames billowing above the business.

For their part, prosecutors have emphasized an absence of deadly violence in Kenosha, other than from Rittenhouse, on the day he shot three protesters.

KENOSHA, Wis. —

The trial for a man charged with killing two men and wounding a third with an assault-style rifle during protests last summer began Tuesday morning in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Kyle Rittenhouse, now 18, formerly of Antioch, Illinois, has been charged with six felonies and one misdemeanor.

A jury was seated to hear the case just after 7 p.m. Monday.

It consists of 20 members — 11 women and nine men.

Nineteen members of the jury are white and one is a person of color.

Twelve will hear the case and decide a verdict.

They will be chosen at the end of the trial.

The others will serve as alternates.

Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty. He has claimed he shot three men in self-defense in August 2020 as protests ensued after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Two of those victims died.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger delivered his opening statements for nearly 35 minutes.

He explained what testimony the jurors would hear and what evidence they would see.

Defense attorney Mark Richards told jurors the evidence would show Rittenhouse acted in self-defense and tried to turn himself into police.

As he displayed photos and brief video clips from the night of the shootings, Rittenhouse leaned on his elbows to view the images on a desktop monitor.

Rittenhouse sat ramrod straight as audio of the shots fired was played for the jurors.

He occasionally turned toward jurors, seeming to scrutinize their reactions.

Jurors watched on a four-by-three foot TV screen set up just outside the jury box, some panelists straining their necks to get better views.

Tensions seemed to fray at times between the defense and prosecutors.

Earlier, during a morning recess and with the jury out of the courtroom, Binger and Richards quarreled briefly about the admissibility of evidence, including personal records of victim Joseph Rosenbaum.

"You opened the door" to new evidence, Richards said.

"No I didn't," Binger shot back.

As the judge readjourned and with jurors still out of the room, Richards shook his head as Binger told the judge the defense was seeking to enter evidence about Rosenbaum seeking mental health.

KENOSHA, Wis. —

Jury selection for the Kyle Rittenhouse trial begins Monday.

Community members told sister station WISN 12 News tensions and anxiety run high as the trial approaches.

"I think people are a little nervous about how this is all going to play out," said Tanya McLean, executive director of the Leaders of Kenosha. "No matter what, we want everyone to remain peaceful because this is about getting justice for two young men."

Rittenhouse shot three men in August 2020 during unrest in Kenosha. Gaige Grosskreutz survived, but he killed Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum.

Rittenhouse claims he shot the men in self-defense.

"It is without debate, judge, all three of these people were chasing Kyle Rittenhouse," a defense attorney said at the last court hearing.

Now a jury will review footage and testimony to decide.

The Leaders of Kenosha group told WISN 12 News they believe justice will only be served if Rittenhouse is convicted of murder.

However, they said safety is a number one concern and priority heading into next week.

"Nobody deserves to go to a rally and not come home at night," said Justin Blake, Jacob Blake's uncle. "It doesn’t mean much to your family if you don't make it home."

The August unrest in Kenosha was in response to the Jacob Blake shooting.

"We have to accept the possibility that because of all these factors there's a chance justice won't fully be served," said Hannah Gittings, Huber's partner. "But what we need to remember is that our strength lies in our numbers and our bind."

The Kenosha County Sheriff's Department said there will be increased police presence and security surrounding the courthouse during the trial.

"Our responsibility to public safety is of utmost importance," Sheriff David Beth said in a statement. "These measures are meant to ensure the safety of the public that has legal business in and around the courthouse campus as well as Civic Center employees while maintaining the integrity of the trial."

MADISON, Wis.— A Wisconsin judge has set the final ground rules for what evidence will be allowed at Kyle Rittenhouse's trial next week.

Judge Bruce Schroeder, during a hearing Monday, ruled that the two men who were shot and killed by Rittenhouse amid August 2020 protests against police brutality could not be referred to by attorneys as "victims" during the upcoming trial.

Schroeder explained it's his long-held view that lawyers should not use the word "victim" to describe people during trials. According to NPR, while such a view is not universal, other judges across the country often rule against the use of the term "victim" because it presupposes a defendant's guilt.

Schroeder also said Tuesday that Rittenhouse's lawyers could potentially refer to the men shot by the teenager as shot as "rioters" or "looters."

"Let the evidence show what the evidence shows — that any or one of these people were engaged in arson, rioting or looting — then I'm not going to tell the defense they can't call them that," Schroeder said, according to CNN.

The judge on Tuesday also ruled that defense attorneys could introduce a video of police thanking Rittenhouse for protecting city businesses and offering him water. The attorneys argue that shows police felt Rittenhouse was acting reasonably.

Schroeder also ruled that a defense use-of-force expert can testify, but only about how quickly the shootings occurred.

Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, traveled across state lines from his home state of Illinois to Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020 as protests against police brutality gripped the city.

The teenager has said he traveled to Kenosha to help business owners protect against looting that was taking place amid the protests. During those protests, Rittenhouse shot and killed protesters Anthony M. Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and injured one other person.

Rittenhouse has argued that he fired in self-defense after protesters surrounded him.

The trial is set to begin Nov. 1.

MADISON, Wis. —

A judge may decide at a hearing Monday whether use-of-force experts can testify at Kyle Rittenhouse's trial for shooting three people during a protest against police brutality in Wisconsin last year.

The hearing is likely the last before Rittenhouse goes on trial Nov. 1 for the shootings that came during chaotic demonstrations in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020, two days after police in that city shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, while responding to a domestic disturbance.

Related video above: Judge hears arguments on witnesses in Rittenhouse trial.

Rittenhouse, 18, of Antioch, Illinois, was among several people who responded to calls on social media to take up arms and come to Kenosha to respond to the protests. Rittenhouse is charged with homicide and other crimes in the fatal shootings of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz.

Rittenhouse's attorneys are seeking testimony from use-of-force expert John Black to bolster their case that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. Prosecutors have asked Judge Bruce Schroeder to disqualify Black, arguing that his expertise is in police, not civilian, use of force and is not relevant to Rittenhouse's actions.

Black previewed his testimony at a hearing in early October. Monday's hearing will include testimony from Robert Willis, a use-of-force expert whom Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger has said he will use if Black is allowed to testify.

Other motions remain for Schroeder to decide before trial. One, from prosecutors, asks Schroeder to forbid defense attorneys from describing the three men Rittenhouse shot as rioters, looters or arsonists. Binger argues there's no proof any of the three were engaged in such activities the night they were shot.

Prosecutors also want Schroeder to block any reference to Rosenbaum's and Huber's criminal records.

They are also seeking to stop the defense from introducing any evidence that police offered water to Rittenhouse and other armed citizens, or that they said, “We appreciate you guys, we really do,” to them.

Rittenhouse attorney Mark Richards argued that such testimony is relevant to whether Rittenhouse was acting recklessly by being on the streets of Kenosha with a weapon that night.

“If the conduct was so obviously dangerous, it seems logical that law enforcement would have either removed the defendant from the situation via arrest, or informed him that he was to leave the area because of his actions,” Richards wrote in a motion. “They did neither.”

Many conservatives have flocked to support Rittenhouse, calling him a patriot and making him a symbol for gun rights and raising $2 million for his bail. Others, including some liberals and activists, portray him as a domestic terrorist and say he made a volatile situation worse.

KENOSHA, Wis. —

Prosecutors said accused Kenosha protest shooting suspect Kyle Rittenhouse has violated the conditions of his release.

A judge allowed Rittenhouse, now 18, of Antioch, Illinois, to be released in November on $2 million cash bail.

He's currently awaiting trial for the shooting deaths of two men who were protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Prosecutors filed a motion Wednesday saying the court was unable to deliver a hearing notice for Rittenhouse at the address he listed as his home on his release paperwork.

The notice was returned to the court because a forwarding address was not known.

Prosecutors wrote in their filing Rittenhouse failed to notify the court of a change of address or telephone number within 48 hours.

They asked the judge to increase Rittenhouse's bail by $200,000 for the violation and issue a warrant for his arrest.

Prosecutors said they were unable to monitor Rittenhouse's whereabouts because he failed to notify them that he moved.

Rittenhouse's cash bond was raised from online supporters.

He has claimed he acted in self-defense.

Prosecutors wrote in their filing Wednesday that Rittenhouse "demonstrated his carefree attitude by going to a bar immediately after his arraignment on Jan. 5, 2021, and drinking three beers in the company of known 'Proud Boys' while flashing white supremacist signs and wearing a 'Free as (expletive) shirt."

Kenosha detectives said they went to the apartment Rittenhouse listed as his address and a man said he had rented the apartment since Dec. 15 and Rittenhouse no longer lived there.

Prosecutors said Rittenhouse failed to correct the address on a document signed Jan. 22.

Rittenhouse's attorney has not yet filed a response to the prosecutor's motion.

His next scheduled court appearance is March 10 but a hearing on the new motion could be held sooner.

If convicted, Rittenhouse faces up to life in prison.