We're into the eighth day of thetrial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois teenager charged with killing two people and wounding a third during violent protests in Kenosha last year after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
In addition to counts of intentional, reckless and attempted homicide and reckless endangerment, Rittenhouse,18, is charged with possessing a firearm as a minor, a misdemeanor. A curfew violation charge was dismissed Tuesday.
More:Jurors are likely to hear from Kyle Rittenhouse in the second week of his homicide trial
Check below for updates asJournal Sentinelreporters and photographerscover the trial. You can also read aboutwhat happened onday one, day two,three, four,five,six and seven of the trial.
The trial is expected to continue through the week.
Prosecution cross-examines Rittenhouse on shootings
Late afternoon Wednesday, after Kyle Rittenhouse had already spent hours being cross-examined, the prosecution began focusing on the shootings, rather than events leading up to them.
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger began the questioning with a video that provided an aerial view of the shooting of Joseph Rosenbaum.
Rittenhouse contended Rosenbaum reached for and grabbed the gun, making him believe he was about to be disarmed and further attacked by Rosenbaum. But Binger argued Rosenbaum was trying to push the gun out of the way after being shot in his lower extremities.
Rittenhouse fired a total of four shots at Rosenbaum. The fatal shot struck him in the back. Binger posited that Rittenhouse tried to kill Rosenbaum, but Rittenhouse said he only wanted to shoot until Rosenbaum no longer posed a threat.
Binger then questioned Rittenhouse why, as a self-described medic, he did not stay to help Rosenbaum. Rittenhouse is seen on video making a phone call to a friend and then running away.
Rittenhouse said his friend was the first number on his phone and decided to run after hearing a “mob” make threatening remarks as it gathered near the scene of the shooting.
Binger countered that Rittenhouse could have called 911 and did not. He pointed to video evidence that appeared to show Rittenhouse running away before other witnesses starting shouting about stopping him.
“My first thought was to help him,” Rittenhouse said.
“You didn’t do a single thing, did you?” Binger replied.
“If the crowd wouldn’t have started screaming “get him” … I would’ve helped Mr. Rosenbaum,” Rittenhouse said.
The two then walked through the rest of the sequence, in which Rittenhouse runs down Sheridan Avenue toward police while members of the public follow and begin attacking him.
Binger repeatedly asked if Rittenhouse intentionally tried to kill the two men he shot during this portion of the event – Anthony Huber, who was killed, and Gaige Grosskreutz, who survived. Rittenhouse repeated each time he had no intention to kill anyone, but because he felt threatened, he fired to neutralize the threat.
Rittenhouse officially stepped down from the witness stand shortly before 4:30 p.m. after being there since about 9:45 a.m., with multiple breaks in between
—Elliot Hughes
Prosecution questions why Rittenhouse had gun, amount of risk he faced
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger spent over an hour pressing Rittenhouse on why he had his gun with him and the amount of risk he perceived in the crowd.
The questions were often repetitive. Binger focused on Rittenhouse’s reasons for taking his AR-15 as he moved throughout the crowd prior to the shootings, since Rittenhouse had been asking if people needed medical care and testified that he was intending to extinguish fires.
Binger tried to argue that Rittenhouse must have taken his gun with him because he perceived he would be at risk or unsafe.
“When you decided to bring your AR-15 loaded with 30 rounds down to the 63rd Street Car Source location, what did you think you needed protection against?” Binger asked.
“I didn't think I was going to need to protect myself,” Rittenhouse replied.
As of 3 p.m., Binger had not asked Rittenhouse about the shootings specifically.
Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder at one point told Binger to “pick up the pace.”
“I thought we had covered much of this before,” Schroder said.
Schroeder called a break after the defense argued that zooming in on a video on an iPad would change the image. Prosecutors wanted to “pinch” and zoom in on a drone video to see the image better.
— Sophie Carson
Prosecution questions Rittenhouse on leaving car lot
On cross-examination Tuesday afternoon, Rittenhouse said he started running toward the car lot where he would eventually fatally shoot Joseph Rosenbaum because he wanted to put out a fire.
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger pushed Rittenhouse on why he left the Car Source property he was there to protect.
Rittenhouse said he wanted “to make sure my community didn’t get burnt down and help.”
He said he believed the fire department was not going to respond to fires.
Binger also questioned Rittenhouse about why he had his gun if he was there to provide first aid to the crowd. Rittenhouse testified that he didn’t think the demonstrators were hostile to his group of armed men and that he didn’t expect to be in a position where he had to defend himself.
“I don't understand why you think you’re going to be in danger if you’re out in what you think is a friendly crowd, helping them,” Binger said.
“I needed the gun because —if I had to protect myself because somebody attacked me,” Rittenhouse responded.
— Sophie Carson
Rittenhouse's defense asking for a mistrial with prejudice
After returning from a lunch break, Kyle Rittenhouse’s defense attorneys have made a motion for a mistrial with prejudice, for “prosecutorial overreach.” If granted, the prosecution would not be able to refile charges against Rittenhouse.
But Judge Bruce Schroeder declined to make a ruling on the motion immediately.After hearing arguments from both sides, Schroeder said he would take the defense’s motion “under advisem*nt” and continued with the trial.
The motion came after two incidents in Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger’s cross examination of Rittenhouse, which Schroeder took issue with.
In the first instance, Binger attempted to establish that Rittenhouse as a witness has benefitted from hearing more than a week of testimony from others and watching countless video footage before taking the stand. Binger’s goal was to demonstrate that Rittenhouse could be tailoring his narrative of the events to all that information.
But the questioning was interrupted by Schroeder, who excused the jury and admonished Binger, saying his questioning functioned as a commentary on Rittenhouse’s silence during the trial.
Rittenhouse, as the defendant, has a right to remain silent.
“You’re right on the borderline,” Schroeder warned Binger.
In the second instance, Binger was asking Rittenhouse several questions about whether it is appropriate to use deadly force while protecting property. He asked if it would be appropriate to use such force if someone tried to break a car window, or set a dumpster on fire, among other scenarios.
Rittenhouse replied each time that such force would be unlawful.
Binger then made a reference to something about Rittenhouse that Schroeder had previously decided should not be brought up in front of the jury.
He began to ask a question about a video of Rittenhouse taken weeks before he shot three people in Kenosha. The video shows Rittenhouse witnessing a shoplifting at a convenience store and saying if he had a gun, he’d shoot them.
Schroeder said Binger should have asked him for permission beforehand if he wanted to admit that evidence Wednesday.
“I have no idea why you would do something like that,” Schroeder yelled, after excusing the jury a second time.
—Elliot Hughes
Gov. Evers prepares National Guard to mobilize if needed in Kenosha
Gov. Tony Evers has prepared members of the Wisconsin National Guard to mobilize if requested by local authorities during or at the conclusion of Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial in the shooting of three men, causing two deaths, during the Kenosha violence last summer.
“As has been the case since before the trial began, we continue to be in close contact with local partners and the state will, as always, work to provide necessary support and resources,” Evers’ spokeswoman Britt Cudaback said.
Evers mobilized 500 troops in January in anticipation of the Kenosha County district attorney’s charging decision in the police shooting of Jacob Blake, the incident that sparked the unrest in Kenosha. DA Michael Graveley chose not to file charges against officer Rusten Sheskey.
The governor’s response to the Kenosha unrest was a flashpoint in 2020 races and is again the subject of criticism by his 2022 Republican opponent Rebecca Kleefisch.
Evers deployed the National Guard on Aug. 23 and doubled the size of the deployment to 250 the next day. That same day, Evers turned down assistance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security offered by the Trump administration because he had just sent more guard members to the city.
But after the Rittenhouse shooting, Evers mobilized another 250 troops and accepted the White House’s offer to send up to 2,000 National Guard troops from neighboring states to help contain the unrest.
— Molly Beck
Judge Bruce Schroeder admonishes prosecutor Thomas Binger during cross-examination
Prosecutor Thomas Binger’s cross-examination of Kyle Rittenhouse drew a couple of serious admonishments from the judge.
The first came as Binger was pointing out that after 14 months of news coverage, investigations, social media commentary and seven days of trial, Rittenhouse was now telling “your side of the story.”
Defense attorney Mark Richards objected that Binger was commenting the defendant’s right to remain silent.
Binger said he was trying to show that Rittenhouse had plenty of time and opportunity to tailor his testimony to the evidence already presented.
After the jury was sent out, Judge Bruce Schroeder got quite animated in telling Binger he was close to or over the line.
“It’s a grave constitutional violation to talk about” Rittenhouse’s right to remain silent, Schroeder told Binger. “This is not permitted.”
Later, Binger began asking Rittenhouse about an incident, recorded on video, from about 15 days before the shootings. He and his friend were in a car watching people leave a CVS store across the street, who Rittenhouse apparently believed had robbed or were shoplifting from.
He says, “I wish I had my AR, I’d fire some rounds at them.”
Months earlier, Binger sought to introduce the video as “other acts” evidence he said showed Rittenhouse’s state of mind, his willingness or desire to use deadly force to protect property, without full information.
Schroeder said he was strongly leaning toward not allowing it.
Richards objected immediately when Binger mentioned the CVS, and the jury was sent out again.
“Mr. Binger is either ignoring the court’s rulings or attempting to provoke a mistrial,” Richards said. He asked that Binger be strongly admonished, and said if it happened again, the defense would seek a mistrial with prejudice. That would mean Rittenhouse could not be retried.
Binger apologized for not seeking permission from the judge before bringing up the CVS incident, but said Schroeder’s earlier ruling left the door open to raising it at trial. Binger said he was intending to impeach Rittenhouse’s testimony that he knew you can’t use deadly force to protect property.
Schroeder got loud and angry with Binger, “Why would you think that’s OK to bring up without asking me first?” he said.
But he let Binger make a record of his argument before again rejecting it.
“I see no similarity between talking about wishing for (an) AR you don't have to fire shots at shoplifters and the incidents in this case,” the judge said.
“It’s not coming in, no matter what you think.”
Schroeder also said he concerns about the progress of the trial.
“I don’t want another issue," Schroeder said. "Is that clear?”
Binger said it was.
— Bruce Vielmetti
Rittenhouse's Wednesday testimony includes night of the shooting
Kyle Rittenhouse testified Wednesday that Joseph Rosenbaum had his hand on Rittenhouse’s rifle when he fired four times, killing Rosenbaum.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself,” Rittenhouse said.
After a recess Wednesday morning, Rittenhouse detailed the sequence of events from when Rosenbaum began chasing him and when Rittenhouse turned himself in to police in Illinois.
He said Rosenbaum began chasing him when Rittenhouse heard a gunshot, which came from another member in the crowd. He said he turned around and that’s when Rosenbaum put his hand on the rifle.
After the shooting, Rittenhouse said he heard people shouting, “get his a--” and decided to run toward the police line farther north of him on Sheridan Road.
Rittenhouse said a “mob” began chasing him and continued to shout “get him,” “cranium him,” and “kill him.”
As he ran down the street, he said Grosskreutz approached him. Grosskreutz previously testified that he tried asking Rittenhouse if he shot someone and why he was running down the street. Rittenhouse said he didn’t perceive Grosskreutz as a threat and so he did not point his rifle at him.
Then, Anthony Huber struck Rittenhouse in the head with a skateboard, and Rittenhouse said he felt like someone had also struck him with a rock or piece of concrete. He said he felt lightheaded and hit the ground.
People moved in on him, but then backed away when he moved his rifle in their direction. One man ran past him and kicked him in the face. Rittenhouse fired two shots but missed.
Rittenhouse said he tried to get up but was again attacked by Huber and his skateboard. He said he could feel the strap of his rifle being pulled, as if he were being disarmed, so he shot at Huber, killing him.
He then lowered his weapon and saw Grosskreutz again, with his hands raised, a pistol in hand. They were so close their feet were touching. Rittenhouse then said Grosskreutz lowered the gun in Rittenhouse’s direction, so he fired and hit Grosskreutz in the arm.
Rittenhouse then stood up, but his hearing was now impaired and his vision narrowed. He said he could only see the flashing lights of police nearby, so he walked toward them with arms raised. He tried telling an officer in a squad car he shot someone, but the offer did not listen and told him to leave or be pepper-sprayed.
The Kenosha Police Department had been fenced off from the unrest, so Rittenhouse and his friend, Dominick Black, drove to his family’s house in Antioch, Ill. From there, his mother took him to the local police station.
Rittenhouse said he was made to wait in the lobby of the station until Kenosha detectives arrived. He said he was vomiting and having panic attacks.
Rittenhouse’s testimony continued Wednesday with cross-examination from the prosecution.
—Elliot Hughes
Rittenhouse becomes emotional on the stand
After about 45 minutes on the witness stand Wednesday, the court is in recess after Kyle Rittenhouse became emotional as he began to explain the sequences of events that led to his shooting of Joseph Rosenbaum.
Prior to that, defense attorney Mark Richards asked Rittenhouse a series of questions about the day leading up to the shootings – Aug. 25, 2020.
Rittenhouse said he worked at a recreational center in Kenosha County at the time and was in the city, where he has family. The next morning, he met up with several of his friends and they went to Kenosha to help clean graffiti.
It was then he met the family who owns the three Car Source lots on Sheridan Road. He said two brothers, Anmol and Sahil Khindri, exchanged contact information with Rittenhouse.
Later that evening, Rittenhouse and two friends returned armed and he said the brothers thanked them for helping protect the business. He said the brothers gave them keys to the business and showed them where to find fire extinguishers.
Rittenhouse’s testimony – and that of his two friends, Nick Smith and Dominick Black – contradicts the testimony of the Khindri brothers, who said last week they never made arrangements for anyone to protect the business properties.
Rittenhouse said he was there to serve as a medic and had supplies with him. He said he has received training as a lifeguard and in cadet programs for fire departments in Illinois.
Rittenhouse said he stationed himself in front of the Car Source property but would occasionally venture out into the street with another man, Ryan Balch, to help protect Car Sourceand to see if anyone needed help. He said he wrapped up a woman’s ankle after she twisted it and flushed out the eyes of another armed man who was affected by a chemical irritant.
While on the street, Rittenhouse said he and Balch became separated by police. He received a phone call from Black telling him to stop people from damaging cars and setting fires at another Car Source location. Rittenhouse obtained a fire extinguisher from someone on the street and ran toward the business.
When he arrived at the business, he heard someone shout “burn in hell,” so Rittenhouse shouted “friendly, friendly, friendly.” He said he dropped the extinguisher and decided to leave.
Rittenhouse said he looked over his shoulder and saw Rosenbaum and felt “cornered.” Rittenhouse then became emotional and Judge Bruce Schroeder called for a recess.
— Elliot Hughes
Rittenhouse takes stand
Kyle Rittenhouse was called to the witness stand in his own trial Wednesday morning, shortly before 9:45 a.m.
As his testimony was to begin, courtroom cameras captured his mother, Wendy Rittenhouse looking nervous and biting her fingernails.
—Elliot Hughes
Rittenhouse defense team zeros in on Jacob Marshall social media post
Throughout Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial, his defense team has made references to a Facebook post from Gaige Grosskreutz’s friend, which said Grosskreutz regretted not killing Rittenhouse when he had the chance.
That friend, Jacob Marshall, began witness testimony Wednesday and said he completely made up the quote that was attributed to Grosskreutz in the post.
The post read, in part, “(Grosskreutz’s) only regret was not killing the kid.” A photo of the two accompanied the post.
Marshall had been living with Grosskreutz for three months prior to the shooting and visited him in the hospital the day after. He said he and his family were getting doxed, and with his friend in the hospital, he wrote the post out of “pure anger.”
“It was insane with everything going on at the time,” Marshall told defense attorney Corey Chirafisi. “I was trying to stick up for my friend.”
Marshall said he has continued to receive harassment online in the year since.
— Elliot Hughes
Prosecution calls 3 witnesses to the stand
Could this be the day Kyle Rittenhouse takes the witness stand in his own defense?
The prosecution rested at midday Tuesday, and the defense lawyers got in three witnesses of their own in the afternoon.
When court finished for the day, lead defense counsel Mark Richards wouldn’t tell reporters if his client might take the stand Wednesday.
Those with more connections to the defense might have some better information; Clerk of Courts Rebecca Matoska-Mentink told registered news media public inquiry to her office about how to attend the trial Wednesday increased on Tuesday.
So far, in-person public attendance has been sparse, leaving plenty of seats for reporters who don’t win a daily lottery for spots in the designated news media rows.
Prosecutors finished their case strong, with witnesses who in most trials might provide routine, need-it-for-the-record evidence. One was a crime lab technician who introduced a newly enhanced version of drone video that offered the best look yet at Rittenhouse fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum.
A Milwaukee County assistant medical examiner explained Rosenbaum’s five wounds and his likely positioning when shot. Dr. Greg Kelley believes a first shot to Rosenbaum’s groin could have made him fall forward. The fatal shot of the four was to Rosenbaum’s back, suggesting he was prone facing Rittenhouse by then.
The defense may call Jeffrey Jentzen for a different interpretation. Jentzen was Milwaukee County Medical Examiner for 21 years, worked on the Jeffrey Dahmer case, and now teaches at the University of Michigan.
Richards asked the judge late Tuesday if one the defense witnesses could testify via Zoom, because of COVID-19 protocols.
