In a criminal trial that divided the country over questions of gun rights, violence during racial justice marches, and vigilantism, Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old who fatally shot two people during the disturbance last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has been cleared of all charges.
 The verdict was announced on Friday. And came after a closely watched trial in which the prosecution struggled to refute Rittenhouse’s position that he shot the victims in self-defense.
When Rittenhouse, 18, heard the court clerk say “not guilty,” he started to cry, fell forward toward the defense table, and hugged one of his attorneys. He was quickly led out a back door by a deputy sheriff.
Defense attorney Mark Richards stated, “He wants to move on with his life.” “He wishes none of this had ever happened, but as he said when he testified, he did not start this,” a witness said. “He has a big sense of relief for what the jury did to him today.”
Why Is Kyle Facing Charges?
During a night of unrest in August 2020 in Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, Rittenhouse testified that he shot two protesters fatally and injured a third in self-defense. Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, is suspected of murdering Joseph Rosenbaum. And Anthony Huber and injuring Gaige Grosskreutz while committing intentional homicide and other crimes.
According to Wisconsin law, the prosecution and defense are free to request that the jury be informed before deliberation. They can take into account less serious offenses. On Nov. 13, Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder decided against the reduced charges.
What Defense Did Kyle Rittenhouse Offer?
Rittenhouse’s attorneys presented approximately 2 1/2 days of testimony to the prosecution’s five witnesses. The most exciting part occurs when the 18-year-old told the jury that he was using his rifle to kill two men and injure a third on the streets of Kenosha in the summer of 2020 because he was defending himself from attacks.
Kyle Rittenhouse Visited Kenosha For What Purpose?
Rittenhouse claimed that two days after Jacob Blake was shot. He went to downtown Kenosha and volunteered to remove graffiti from a high school. When he encountered the owners of a car dealership where automobiles had been set on fire. He expressed his “condolences” and expressed a desire to assist. He claimed that that night, he joined his friend and other people after the owners asked him to help protect their store. However, he brought first aid supplies as well as his semi-automatic gun. He gave a friend his bulletproof vest, which he claimed to have received from the Grayslake Police Department. He claimed that because he would be helping others, he wouldn’t require it.
What Did Kyle Rittenhouse Say Regarding His Mental State?
In a self-defense case, the defendant’s mental state is essential. To be exonerated, the offender must show that he had a reasonable belief that his life was in danger. And that the force he used was appropriate to the danger. During his cross-examination, Rittenhouse was questioned by Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger about his motivations, including if he intended to murder the three men.
Rittenhouse claimed, “I didn’t plan to murder them. I intended to stop the people who were attacking me.
