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.

A jury in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts in connection with an August 2020 shooting that left two men dead amid protests against police brutality.

The jury returned the verdict Friday amid its fourth day of deliberations.

Rittenhouse was found not guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety. He would have faced life in prison if convicted of the intentional homicide count.

A visibly emotional Rittenhouse collapsed into his chair as the jury's verdict was read.

Rittenhouse was 17 when he traveled from his home in nearby Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha on Aug. 25 as protests gripped the city following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man.

Rittenhouse and others armed themselves to protect local businesses from looters and vandals. Several buildings in the area had been vandalized and damaged in the days prior when protests grew violent.

The testimony at trial showed that later in the evening, Rittenhouse separated from the people he had banded together with to protect a used car lot. At that car lot, Rittenhouse encountered protester Joseph Rosenbaum. During that encounter, Rittenhouse shot and killed Rosenbaum.

A video then showed Rittenhouse running while people chased him. That's when a still-unidentified man tried to kick Rittenhouse in the head. Another man named Anthony Huber hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard. Rittenhouse opened fire, killing Huber. Rittenhouse also fired at the first unidentified man but missed.

Moments later, a third man, Gaige Grosskreutz, appeared next to Rittenhouse with a pistol. Rittenhouse fired and shot Grosskreutz in the bicep. Grosskreutz survived the shooting and testified during the trial.

Rittenhouse continued down the road, and at one point, passed a police line. The video showed Rittenhouse raising his arms. Police told him to go home, and they continued on their way to the shooting scenes.

Rittenhouse turned himself into police the next day.

Jurors ultimately decided that Rittenhouse feared for his life and fired in self-defense as protesters surrounded him.

The prosecution had argued the opposite, claiming that Rittenhouse was the aggressor.

After the jury returned the verdict, protesters gathered outside of the Kenosha courthouse. As of 2 p.m. ET, the demonstrations have been peaceful.

Earlier in the week, in a joint statement, the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department and Kenosha Police Department said they saw no reason to pre-emptively close roads or issue a curfew ahead of the verdict.

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

Huber's family released a statement shortly after the verdict was read, saying that they were "heartbroken" and "angry" that Rittenhouse was found not guilty.

"Today's verdict means there is no accountability for the person who murdered our son," the statement read. "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. We hope that decent people will join us in forcefully rejecting that message and demanding more of our laws, our officials and our justice system."

When asked his thoughts on the verdict by pool reports, President Joe Biden said he stood by the jury's decision.

"I stand by what the jury has concluded. The jury system works and we have to abide by it," Biden said.

The president released this statement on the matter:

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 presiding over the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, Judge Bruce Schroeder, created controversy Thursday afternoon after making a joke about Asian food as the court went into a lunch break.

"I hope the Asian food isn't coming isn't on one of those boats from Long Beach Harbor," Schroeder said as the trial broke for lunch.

The comment appears to have been in reference to supply chain issues at ports in California. Long Beach Harbor is a container port near Los Angeles.

John Yang, the president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC, told CNN that the judge's comments "harm(s) our community and puts us in the crosshairs of microaggressions as well as actual physical violence."

Schroeder's comments come almost two weeks after he dismissed a juror for making a joke about Jacob Blake, whose shooting by a Kenosha police officer sparked the Kenosha protests and unrest.

After learning about what the juror said, Schroeder told the court last week, "I'm going to summarize what I remember, what I was told. He was telling a joke. He told the officer, he made a reference about telling a joke about why did it take seven shots to shoot Jacob Blake. Something to that effect."

"It is clear that the appearance to bias is present, and it would seriously undermine the outcome of the case," Schroeder said as he made his decision to dismiss the juror.

Both the prosecution and the defense agreed with the dismal.

The judge also emerged in national headlines before the trial began when he ruled that prosecutors could not refer to people as victims — including the three people shot by Rittenhouse — before jurors in his Kenosha County courtroom.

Schroeder is currently the longest-serving trial court judge in Wisconsin.

Rittenhouse faces five felony charges stemming from the shooting amid protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. If convicted on one of two first-degree intentional homicide charges, he could face life in prison.

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

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.

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.

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.