Jury deliberations began Tuesday in the Kyle Rittenhouse homicide trial following two weeks of intense testimony and incendiary comments that offered starkly different portraits of the armed Illinois teenager who fatally shot two people and injured a third during a night of unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year.
Closing arguments wrapped up Monday night in the high-profile case with lawyers calling each other liars.
Rittenhouse is charged in the fatal shootings of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26. He also wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 28, after shooting him in the arm and blowing off his bicep. The teenager from Antioch, Illinois, faces five criminal charges ranging from intentional homicide to recklessly endangering safety. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted of the most serious charge, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Prosecutors painted Rittenhouse, now 18, as a “wannabe soldier” drawn to chaos while defense attorneys countered that the youth cadet feared for his life and was forced to kill or be killed.
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Rittenhouse testified he feared for his life when Rosenbaum lunged at him, Huber hit him with a skateboard, and Grosskreutz pointed a gun at him.
Under the direction of circuit court Judge Bruce Schroeder, Rittenhouse selected the final 12 jurors who will decide his fate from slips of paper placed into a raffle drum with the numbers of each of the 18 jurors who sat through the trial. Those who weren’t chosen won’t be deliberating the case but are required to remain in the courthouse until a verdict is reached.
The three-week trial had many dramatic moments. Here are our top five.
Grosskreutz admits he was armed
Gaige Grosskreutz, the only person to survive being shot by Rittenhouse, was billed as the state’s star witness.
His testimony fell short and at times lent support to Rittenhouse’s central claim of self-defense.
The Milwaukee paramedic testified that he had attended dozens of Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020 in different capacities. At times, he went as a protester, a medic, and a legal observer for the ACLU.
Grosskreutz’s testimony came apart after he admitted during cross-examination that he had pointed his Glock pistol at Rittenhouse. During closing arguments, the defense tried to take the sheen off Grosskreutz’s credibility.
“Grosskreutz won’t say anything that puts him in a bad light,” Mark Richards said. “Grosskreutz’s the person who has 10 million reasons to lie.”
Last month, Grosskreutz filed a lawsuit against Kenosha authorities, alleging that the shootings were “a natural consequence of the actions” of the Kenosha police and sheriff’s office. The defense has suggested that his odds of winning his civil suit would vastly improve if Rittenhouse were convicted.
Richie McGinnis, a named victim, saw Rosenbaum’s death
Daily Caller videographer Richie McGinnis testified as a witness for both sides and is a named victim.
One of the criminal charges against Rittenhouse accuses him of recklessly putting McGinnis’s safety in jeopardy.
McGinnis testified he was behind Rittenhouse and Rosenbaum when their chase began and was only a few feet away when Rittenhouse opened fire. Like Grosskreurtz, his testimony also hurt the prosecution’s case. McGinnis told jurors that Rosenbaum lunged at Rittenhouse first and had put his hand on the barrel of Rittenhouse’s gun.
After Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum, McGinnis stayed with him as he was dying. “I was just telling him that we’re going to have a beer together afterward, and it was all going to be OK,” McGinnis said.
Rittenhouse sobs on stand
Perhaps the most compelling testimony came from Rittenhouse himself.
The one-time YMCA lifeguard sobbed on the stand just moments after taking it, crying so hard that the judge had to call a recess.
When court resumed, Rittenhouse calmly answered questions from lawyers for 6 hours while his mother Wendy could be heard crying loudly from the courtroom gallery.
Rittenhouse testified that he went to Kenosha after being asked by the owner of Car Source to protect private property. He also said he brought his medical bag to render aid to anyone who needed it. Car Source had been set on fire and endured damage during the third night of riots. Rittenhouse told the jury the situation in Kenosha quickly escalated and that he was forced to fight his way out because he feared for his life.
He testified he was chased, lunged at, and verbally threatened. Prosecutors asked him what risk Rosenbaum, an unarmed man, posed.
Rittenhouse said he feared if Rosenbaum wrestled his weapon away, he would use it to shoot and kill him.
Prosecutor points gun used in shootings
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger caused some gasps during closing arguments when he picked up the gun Rittenhouse used to kill two men, and with his finger on the trigger, pointed it in front of the jury.
“In a trial in which the defendant is being accused of reckless actions, Binger committed his own while attempting to act out Rittenhouse’s actions with his rifle,” James Gagliano, a security and law enforcement analyst, wrote. “With the recent accidental shooting on a movie set in New Mexico still fresh in our minds, Binger sweeps the courtroom specter section with the weapon and incredulously breaks firearms handling safety rule number one. Never place your finger on the trigger unless and until you have acquired a target you may have to neutralize.”
Gagliano called Binger’s actions “yet another example of those prosecuting gun crimes with little understanding of guns.”
Judge slams prosecution — repeatedly — over antics
The murder case against Rittenhouse was almost thrown into jeopardy after defense lawyers demanded a mistrial with prejudice over what appeared to be questions that were out of bounds by Binger.
The defense also accused prosecutors of ignoring pretrial rulings made on inadmissible evidence. If the mistrial had been granted, it would have prohibited the state from retrying their case.
When Rittenhouse was on the stand, Binger’s line of questioning prompted Schroeder to shout, “I don’t believe you,” at one point when Binger argued he had been acting in good faith.
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Prosecutors earlier this year had sought permission to introduce a video taken 15 days before the shootings in which Rittenhouse is heard watching men exit a CVS pharmacy and commenting that he wished he had his rifle so he could shoot them because he assumed they were shoplifters. Binger argued at a pretrial hearing it showed Rittenhouse’s mindset and prejudices, but Schroeder questioned its relevance and said during the pretrial hearing that he was inclined not to allow it but that he might change his mind during the trial.
When Rittenhouse was on the stand, Binger hammered him with questions on whether it was acceptable to use deadly force to protect people. The defense objected, and Schroeder sent the jury out.
He then turned his anger on Binger.
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The prosecutor argued he thought the judge’s pretrial ruling left the door open to the line of questioning, but Schroeder yelled,” For me! Not for you!”
He also sounded off on Binger commenting on Rittenhouse’s right to remain silent following the shootings. Schroeder called it a “grave constitutional violation” and warned the experienced prosecutor to stop.
