Kyle Rittenhouse trial: Kenosha prepares for unrest as legal teams to give closing arguments
Judge to determine whether jury can consider lesser charges as closing remarks are slated to begin on Monday
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Kyle Rittenhouse’s homicide trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin, resumed on Friday morning to weigh potential lesser charges.
The defence rested its case on Thursday and Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder sent the jury home for the weekend before closing arguments are slated to begin on Monday.
On Friday afternoon, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced that 500 National Guard service members are prepared to assist local law enforcement in the event that unrest follows a verdict.
Wendy Rittenhouse, the defendant’s mother, appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News programme on Thursday night, where she praised Judge Schroeder as “very fair” after he came under scrutiny for a series of rulings perceived as biased toward the defence and made off-colour joke about Asian food as the court broke for lunch.
She also attacked President Joe Biden, accusing him of painting her son as a white supremacist in a bid to win last year’s election.
Mr Rittenhouse, 18, faces multiple charges including homicide and minor in possession of a weapon for shooting three people – two fatally – during racial justice protests in Kenosha, on 25 August 2020.
At Friday’s conference with the judge, and without the jury, prosecutors asked to consider lesser charges – in addition to the original counts – as the defence anticipates acquittal in the more-serious charges, which could impose a mandatory life sentence, if Mr Rittenhouse is convicted.
Judge Schroeder is set to make a determination over whether the jury will consider other lesser changes, including Mr Rittenhouse provoked one encounter among the men he fatally shot on 25 August 2020.
Judge Schroeder also did not rule out lesser charges involving Gaige Grosskreutz, who survived Mr Rittenhouse’s gunfire, and he will also allow two lesser charges in the killing of Anthony Huber.
The proceedings were interrupted twice by Judge Schroeder’s “God Bless The USA” ringtone, which first made an appearance on Wednesday.
Follow the latest updates live:
Lara Trump slams mainstream media coverage of Rittenhouse trial
Lara Trump condemned mainstream media coverage of the Rittenhouse trial as “hiding the truth” in an appearance on Fox News on Friday morning.
“This is nothing new for the mainstream media. In fact, they’ve been trying to tell us what they want us to hear and not the truth for quite some time now,” Ms Trump, the daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump, said.
“People have finally started to wake up in America and say, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t think I’ve been getting the facts from these quote-unquote journalists out there,’ because that’s not what they are at all. A lot of these people consider themselves to be political activists, and they disguise themselves as journalists.
“But I think it’s why you see the distrust in the media at an all-time high in our country right now because you haven’t been able to get the facts about a lot of things. They’ve been pushing a certain narrative for so long.”
Who is the judge overseeing the Rittenhouse trial?
As the nation’s eyes are glued to Mr Rittenhouse’s trial, much attention has been paid to Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder, Wisconsin’s longest-serving active trial judge at 75 years old.
The Independent’s Alex Woodward looks into Judge Schroeder’s handling of the case and his history on the bench:
Who is the judge in Kyle Rittenhouse’s homicide trial?
Longtime Wisconsin trial judge has been at the centre of the closely watched case
Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Greg Gutfield defend Rittenhouse
Fox News primetime hosts are mounting a spirited defence of Mr Rittenhouse as his trial reaches its final stages.
Tucker Carlson, who hosts the network’s highest-rated show, has devoted lengthy segments to the teenager’s innocence this week.
“When legitimate authority refuses to do its... sworn duty, others will fill the vacuum,” he said in one of three monologues on the case this week. “But rather than acknowledge that obvious truth and accept the responsibility they bear, the people who made these riots possible in the first place decided instead to crush Kyle Rittenhouse.”
Sean Hannity and Greg Gutfeld gave their own statements of support, The Independent’s Stuti Mishra reports:
Fox News host says Rittenhouse ‘did the right thing’ amid controversial trial
‘Kyle’s victims deserved better from the government. But they didn’t deserve better from Kyle’
The judge is considering lesser charges against Rittenhouse. Here’s what that could mean
On Friday, prosecutors presented several lesser charges for the jury to consider against Kyle Rittenhouse, as the defence anticipates acquittal on more-serious homicide charges.
Judge Bruce Schroeder met with both legal teams on Friday for an in-court conference without the jury present.
Here is how he explained how that would work to Mr Rittenhouse: “Any of the ones we talked about, which are less serious crimes carrying lesser potential sentences, if I allow those, then the jury, if they are unable to agree that you’re guilty of the charged offense, will have the opportunity to consider whether you’re guilty of the less serious offense and could return that as a verdict as an alternative to instead returning a verdict of not guilty.”
The judge will issue a determination on those charges on Saturday.
He did indicate he will tell the jury to they can consider the prosecution’s argument that Mr Rittenhouse provoked one encounter among the men he fatally shot on 25 August 2020.
Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney James Kraus showed drone video footage of Mr Rittenhouse raising his AR-15-style rifle in a crowd, before he fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, who the defence argued was the aggressor.
Under Wisconsin law, if someone provokes a confrontation they are required to exhaust all other options before using deadly force in self-defense, Reuters has reported. The prosecution can then argue that Mr Rittenhouse was the aggressor, and undermine the defence’s claim of self-defence.
Judge Schroeder did not rule out lesser charges involving Gaige Grosskreutz, who survived Mr Rittenhouse’s gunfire, and he will also allow two lesser charges in the killing of Anthony Huber.
Mr Rittenhouse’s attorneys agreed to included lesser charges involving the killing of Mr Huber as long as they did not include second-degree reckless homicide, arguing that the charge does not require proof that Mr Rittenhouse exhibited an “utter disregard” for human life. The defence has sought to retain that high bar for the prosecution, according to Reuters.
Legal teams are preparing their final statements for Monday morning. Here’s who they are
Judge Bruce Schroeder has asked legal teams to keep things brief on Monday as closing arguments begin. Each side will have two and a half hours for their arguments and rebuttals.
Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger is the lead prosecutor, having served for seven years. He made a bid for district attorney in neighbouring Racine County in 2016. He is joined by Assistant District Attorney James Kraus.
Leading the defence team is veteran criminal defence attorney and former prosecutor Mark Richards. He is joined by another former prosecutor, Corey Chirafisi.
The jury includes 20 people – including 11 women and nine men – but only 12 will deliberate on the verdict.
They will be randomly drawn from a lottery-style tumbler.
ICYMI: A look at Kyle Rittenhouse’s day on the witness stand
In his first appearance on the witness stand on 10 November, Kyle Rittenhouse publicly detailed the night of the shootings for the first time, as his attorneys sought to frame the killings as acts of self-defence against a violent mob. Prosecutors have argued that Mr Rittenhouse – armed with an AR-15-style rifle that night – intentionally used deadly force as he fired at several men, ultimately killing two people and injuring another.
Catch up with coverage below:
Kyle Rittenhouse sobs on witness stand during testimony in double homicide trial
Teenager who fatally shot two men and injured another during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin appears on witness stand
We’re closing today’s live coverage of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. Stay tuned with The Independent.
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