Kyle Rittenhouse

Kyle Rittenhouse

AP

Kyle Rittenhouse charged in shooting deaths of 2, wounding of 1 during Kenosha unrest

Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, is accused of killing two people and injuring a third person during protests in Kenosha, Wis., this summer.

Rittenhouse was charged in August with multiple counts, including reckless and intentional homicide, endangerment and being a minor in possession of a firearm. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that prosecutors added violating curfew the night of the shootings to the list of charges on Dec. 28. The offense is a civil citation punishable by forfeiture.

Prosecutors allege Rittenhouse, who is white, left his home in Antioch and traveled to Kenosha after learning of a call for militia to protect businesses in that city on Aug. 25. Kenosha was in the throes of several nights of chaotic street demonstrations after a white officer shot Jacob Blake, who is Black, in the back, leaving Blake paralyzed.

Rittenhouse opened fire with an assault-style rifle during the protest that night, killing Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz. Rittenhouse has argued he fired in self-defense.

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 who was exercising his right to bear arms during the unrest. A legal defense fund for Rittenhouse has raised millions of dollars in donations.

34 Total Updates Since
August 26, 2020 05:04 PM