The lead prosecutor in the homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse claimed Monday the defendant lost the right to self-defense when he “brought the gun” to defend himself during a tumultuous night of unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last August, prompting backlash from experts and spectators alike.
Closing arguments began Monday morning in the trial of Rittenhouse, the Illinois teenager who is accused of killing Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and injuring Gaige Grosskreutz after shooting him in the arm with an AR-style rifle. Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger, the lead prosecutor in the trial, claimed Rittenhouse had no grounds to stand when feigning self-defense regarding the death of Rosenbaum and Huber.
“You lose the right to self-defense when you’re the one who brought the gun,” Binger said, attempting to demonstrate his point by raising the firearm and pointing it at a wall. “That is what provokes this entire incident,” he said. “If you are the one who is threatening others, you lose the right to self-defense,” the prosecutor said of Rittenhouse, adding, “when you’re the one creating the danger.”
“This isn’t a situation where he was protecting his home or his family,” Binger added. Following his comments during the trial, the lead prosecutor became subject to sharp scrutiny for his statement by online spectators.
PROSECUTORS CLAIM RITTENHOUSE LIED ABOUT MOTIVES IN KENOSHA SHOOTING
This guy needs to be disbarred https://t.co/WrVTfeSaaT
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 15, 2021
“This guy needs to be disbarred,” tweeted Ryan Saavedra, a reporter with the Daily Wire.
Alison Hayden, a California candidate running in the state’s 15th Congressional District election in 2022, also dubbed Binger a “Joker Prosecutor” following his remarks.
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) November 15, 2021
Paul Bucher, a Wisconsin defense attorney with Bucher Law Group who is not involved in the trial, also disputed Binger’s claims on Monday in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“When Rosenbaum lunged at him, he certainly had the right to use self-defense and pull the trigger. Threatening to use dangerous force — if that in fact was — doesn’t take away your right to use deadly force,” Bucher said.
The jury will ultimately decide whether Binger’s exhibit is compelling to show whether or not Rittenhouse acted in self-defense.
Binger’s comments came after he played video for the jury showing the shootings and the aftermath. The video included drone footage taken from the shooting of Rosenbaum, who was unarmed. The attorney argued that when the defendant, Rittenhouse, reached for his gun in the video, this “provoked the incident,” claiming that is when Rittenhouse lost the right to self-defense.
Rittenhouse said he feared for his life when Rosenbaum lunged at him, Huber hit him with a skateboard, and Grosskreutz pointed a gun at him on the night of Aug. 25, 2020. The post-dusk protests in the small town of Kenosha erupted earlier that week following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man.
Attorney Exavier Pope of the Pope Law Firm in Chicago, Illinois, agreed with Binger’s claim on Monday, tweeting the matter was “Basic Criminal Law.”
This is the CLEAR story prosecution had trouble with on putting on case and cross examination of Kyle Rittenhouse but doing so in close
— ??????? ???? (@exavierpope) November 15, 2021
“This is the CLEAR story prosecution had trouble with on putting on case and cross examination of Kyle Rittenhouse but doing so in close,” Pope said.
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Some critics also raised alarm about the way Binger pointed the rifle during his demonstration, making reference to the recent incident involving actor Alec Baldwin on the film set for the movie Rust, when a gun wielded by Baldwin fired live ammunition during filming. Several users posted images of Binger and Baldwin alongside each other and raised alarms about the lawyer’s finger on the trigger while the bolt on the rifle was closed, presenting a safety hazard.
Judge Bruce Schroeder allowed prosecutors and defense attorneys each 2 1/2 hours on Monday to convince a 12-person jury whether or not Rittenhouse was legally justified when he pulled the trigger and shot three men in less than three minutes during a night of civil unrest.
