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.

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.

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.

Dozens of community activists and shooting victims' families gathered to promote healing and change in Kenosha following the Kyle Rittenhouse trial."What we're here today for is a very simple call. We want to reimagine what our community looks like," said activist Kyle Johnson. “We need to heal, and when we say heal we don’t mean going back to the status quo, because we saw where that got us, we mean improving.” Johnson and other community members said the Rittenhouse verdict should be a new beginning for change."We start a new chapter here in Kenosha," said Kyle Flood, a former school board member and activist. "A chapter where we start to reimagine what Kenosha looks like. We reimagine a demilitarized police where people never have to start a riot."They said they hope to improve the criminal justice system, schooling, housing and other issues in Kenosha."I just want the city of Kenosha to understand ... that nobody here is ever going to stop. No one here is going to stop attempting to expose the flaws in the system," said Hannah Gittings, the girlfriend of Anthony Huber who was shot and killed by Rittenhouse during the 2020 unrest."I miss Anthony every single day," she tearfully said. "I wish I could come home to him to unload, but I can't because he's dead. And now the system is telling me no one needs to answer to that, and I have a problem with that."She said all the community can do now is move forward.

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. (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. —

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.

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 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, Wisc. — The U.S. Department of Justice will not pursue federal criminal, civil rights charges against Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey in the shooting of Jacob Blake last summer.

Officer Rusten Sheskey shot Blake, who is Black, during a domestic disturbance in Kenosha in August 2020. The shooting left Blake paralyzed from the waist down and sparked several nights of protests.

The U.S. Department of Justice launched its investigation days after the shooting. State prosecutors decided not to file charges against Sheskey in January after the video showed that Blake had been armed with a knife.

The DOJ announced in a statement Friday that federal prosecutors from their Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office reviewed evidence to find out whether Sheskey violated any federal laws.

Their investigation focused on the "application of deprivation of rights under color of law, a federal criminal, civil rights statute that prohibits certain types of official misconduct."

According to the DOJ, evidence included police reports, law enforcement accounts, witness statements, affidavits of witnesses, dispatch logs, physical evidence reports, photographs, and videos of some portions of the incident.

For federal civil rights laws to have been broken, prosecutors must establish beyond a doubt that a police officer intentionally deprived someone of a constitutional right.

"Neither accident, mistake, fear, negligence, nor bad judgment is sufficient to establish a willful federal criminal, civil rights violation," the DOJ stated.

Following their investigation, federal prosecutors concluded insufficient evidence to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that Sheskey willfully violated the federal criminal, civil rights statutes.

The review of the shooting of Blake by federal authorities has now concluded, the DOJ said.

TMJ4 Staff and the Associated Press contributed to this report.