Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17 year old high school student from Antoich, Illinois, has stood trial for the killings of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and injuries caused to Gaige Grosskreutz. On August 25th, 2020, there was a protest for the paralyzation of Jacob Blake by a police officer that turned violent in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kyle Rittenhouse was dropped off in Kenosha by his mother with an AR-15. Rittenhouse was quickly put on trial for his apparent crimes.
The charges put up against him were first-degree reckless homicide, 2 counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.
Rittenhouse told the court that “he was there to suppress the insurgency, putting out fires among and giving medical attention to the wounded.”
Protesters were not fond of his actions and targeted him with several acts of violence.
Joseph Rosenbaum had met Rittenhouse in an encounter where they crossed paths in a used car lot. At Rosenbaum’s dismay, he attempted to touch Rittenhouse in a harmful manner. Rittenhouse then proceeded to flee, but Rosenbaum pursued. Eventually, Rosenbaum tried seizing his weapon, which was subsequently met with Rosenbaum being shot and killed.
After the fatal shot delivered to Rosenbaum, many looked at Rittenhouse as an active threat. Anthony Huber had begun to chase him down as Rittenhouse was trying to make his way to the police. Huber caught up to him and slammed his shoulder with his skateboard. Rittenhouse, still active, shot him once, killing him with the fatal shot.
Gaige Grosskruetz was the only aggressor against Rittenhouse that survived. He too chased down Rittenhouse, after it had been thought that Rittenhouse was an active shooter. Grosskruetz had a handgun that night, as he chased Rittenhouse. Grosskruetz “allegedly pointed his gun at Rittenhouse which was met with a bullet to the bicep.” After further investigation, it was deemed that “the gun was being pointed at Rittenhouse.”
The trial came to a close on November 19th, 2021, and Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges brought against him. The jury sat on the decision for nearly 25 hours before bringing it to the judge.
