Kyle Rittenhouse released on $2 million bail in Kenosha protest slayings

KENOSHA, Wis. — A 17-year-old from Illinois charged with killing two people during a protest in Wisconsin, whose case has become a rallying cry for some conservatives, posted $2 million bail Friday and was released from custody.

Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz during a demonstration Aug. 25 in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. He posted through his attorney about 2 p.m., Kenosha County Sheriff’s Sgt. David Wright said.

Wright said Rittenhouse was “released to members of his security detail set up through his attorney.”

“I don’t know what the stipulations are for his bail or whether he can leave Wisconsin to go back to Illinois or if he has to stay here,” Wright said.

Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, told police he was attacked while guarding a business and that he fired in self-defense.

He faces multiple charges, including intentional homicide, reckless endangerment and being a minor in possession of a firearm. Wisconsin law doesn’t permit minors to carry or possess a gun unless they’re hunting. He is due back in court on Dec. 3 for a preliminary hearing.

His case has taken on political overtones. Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement have painted Rittenhouse as a trigger-happy white supremacist. Conservatives upset over property destruction during recent protests have portrayed him as a patriot exercising his right to bear arms during unrest. A legal defense fund for him has attracted millions of dollars in donations, and his mother got a standing ovation from women at a Waukesha County GOP function in September.

Huber’s father, John Huber, asked Kenosha County Circuit Court Commissioner Loren Keating during a hearing Nov. 2 to set Rittenhouse’s bail between $4 million and $10 million. Huber said Rittenhouse thinks he’s above the law and noted the effort to raise money on his behalf. He also suggested militia groups would hide him from police if he were released.

Rittenhouse’s attorney, Mark Richards, asked for $750,000 bail.

Keating ultimately set bail at $2 million, saying Rittenhouse was a flight risk given the seriousness of the charges against him.

Richards’ law office declined to comment on specifics, but said it wasn’t responsible for posting Rittenhouse’s bail.

“He has a lot of attorneys and a lot of money being raised for him, so we are not sure who did it,” a spokeswoman for Richards and Dimmer SC said.

Attorney Lin Wood, who has been representing and raising money for Rittenhouse, celebrated Rittenhouse’s release on Twitter Friday afternoon. He applauded actor Ricky Schroder and Mike Lindell, creator of the MyPillow, for donating money that got them to $2 million.

Wood did not say how much the two contributed.