The family of a man who Kyle Rittenhouse allegedly killed during a nighttime protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer sued the city this week, claiming law enforcement “conspired” with armed individuals.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Division, on Tuesday, was filed on behalf of Anthony Huber, who was allegedly shot by Rittenhouse during protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who was left paralyzed after police shot him multiple times in the back during a domestic disturbance call on Aug. 23 last year.
The Kenosha County sheriff, the former chief of police, and acting chief of police of the Kenosha Police Department are named as defendants in the suit, as well as “John Doe police officers of the Kenosha Police Department and Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department,” and the city and county of Kenosha.
“Astonishingly, the Kenosha Police Department, Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department, and their supervising officials and police officers, did not treat Rittenhouse or any of the other armed individuals patrolling the streets as a threat to the safety of themselves or the citizens they were sworn to protect,” it read.
The lawsuit claims Rittenhouse received special treatment due to his race, saying that if he were black, the police “would have acted much differently.”
“Instead, Defendants deputized these armed individuals, conspired with them, and ratified their actions by letting them patrol the streets, armed with deadly weapons, to mete out justice as they saw fit,” it continued.
Video footage from the evening of the shooting shows Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, walk past law enforcement while carrying a long gun without being detained. He was later charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the killing of two protesters and attempted intentional homicide in the wounding of a third. Rittenhouse has claimed he “would have died” if he didn’t shoot the victims.
John Huber, one of the plaintiffs and father of Anthony Huber, alleged the police “walked away from their duties and turned over the streets of Kenosha to Kyle Rittenhouse and other armed vigilantes. If they had done their job, my son would still be alive today.”
Sam Hall, an attorney for Kenosha County and Sheriff David Beth, called the claims “demonstrably false.”
“While we understand that the family of Anthony Huber is grieving his loss, we must make it clear that the allegations against Sheriff Beth and the Kenosha Sheriff’s Office are demonstrably false and that the facts will show that Mr. Huber’s death was not caused by any actions or inactions of Kenosha County law enforcement,” according to a statement from Hall.
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Rittenhouse has been free on bail since Nov. 20 after his lawyer posted $2 million donated by supporters, who believed his prosecution infringed on his Second Amendment rights. A Kenosha County circuit court postponed Rittenhouse’s court trial in March until Nov. 1. If convicted of his charges, he could face up to life in prison.
The Washington Examiner contacted Hall, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department, and the Kenosha Police Department but did not immediately receive a response.
