Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyers on Wednesday asked for a mistrial with prejudice after prosecutors ignored rulings the judge previously made on inadmissible evidence as well as their line of questioning.
If granted, the state would not be able to retry their case against the 18-year-old accused of fatally shooting two people and injuring a third during a night of violent clashes in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020.
Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder did not immediately rule on the request but repeatedly admonished prosecutors Wednesday, at one point telling Thomas Binger, “When you say that you were acting in good faith, I don’t believe you.”
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The turn of events came after emotionally charged testimony by Rittenhouse, who said he didn’t do anything wrong and was defending himself on Aug. 25, 2020.
During cross-examination, Binger asked Rittenhouse whether he thought it was appropriate to use deadly force to protect property as well as questions about his decision to remain silent following the incident.
Once the jury was led out of the courtroom, Schroeder unleashed on Binger, angrily accusing the experienced prosecutor of pursuing an improper line of questioning and trying to introduce testimony that Schroeder had ruled against in a pretrial hearing.
“Don’t get brazen with me,” Schroeder warned prosecutors. He also said they were “bordering” on “grave constitutional violations” for bringing up Rittenhouse’s right to remain silent.
WATCH: Judge in Rittenhouse case berates prosecutor over line of questioning.
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Mark Richards, Rittenhouse’s attorney, accused Binger of attempting to provoke a mistrial, an accusation Binger denied. Binger said he thought the door was open to his line of questioning and told Schroeder he was acting in good faith, though the judge said he didn’t buy it.
Schroeder warned prosecutors that there “better not be another incident” in which they introduced evidence he had ruled inadmissible.
Earlier Wednesday, Rittenhouse sobbed on the stand, prompting Schroeder to call for a short recess. His mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, could also be heard sobbing loudly within the earshot of jurors. When the trial resumed, Rittenhouse maintained his composure throughout his testimony and during an aggressive cross-examination by prosecutors.
Rittenhouse is accused of fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and grievously injuring Gaige Grosskreutz. The then-17-year-old fired an AR-15-style rifle he was too young to buy legally and went to Kenosha to protect Car Source, an automobile dealership located near the heart of the protests.
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Rittenhouse’s friend, Dominick Black, is accused of buying the gun used to kill Rosenbaum, a man who chased Rittenhouse into the Car Source parking lot and lunged for his weapon, according to testimony. Rittenhouse, a former police youth cadet and part-time YMCA lifeguard, shot and killed Huber, who swung a skateboard at him. Rittenhouse also shot Grosskreutz in the arm after Grosskreutz aimed a pistol at him.
Prosecutors have painted Rittenhouse, who worked in Kenosha and has family living there, including his father, as a “tourist” who deliberately inserted himself into the volatile situation with a gun he shouldn’t have had and wasn’t trained to use. Rittenhouse’s lawyers say he acted in self-defense.
Some members of the media, including the Washington Post, and legal analysts have accused Schroeder of putting his thumb on the scale for the defense.
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Schroeder, who has been accused by some in the media of being “more pro-defense than pro-prosecution,” forbade prosecutors ahead of the trial from referring to the men Rittenhouse shot as “victims,” which he described as a “loaded term.” He also said prosecutors could not enter evidence showing alleged links between Rittenhouse and the Proud Boys, a white nationalist group. Prosecutors were also prevented from bringing up a prior incident in which Rittenhouse allegedly attacked a woman who was in a fight with his sister.
He is also known around Kenosha for his courtroom quirks. At times, he has quoted Shakespeare, the Bible, and Medieval judicial philosophy. At the start of the Rittenhouse trial, he played courtroom Jeopardy! with potential jurors and applauded when they answered correctly.
He also awkwardly told them he doesn’t have COVID-19 and referred to the fall of the Roman Empire to express the gravity of jury duty.
The judge also hasn’t held back on his feelings toward CNN’s chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who has criticized Schroeder’s handling of the trial.
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During a sidebar with the defense team and prosecutors, Schroeder said he feared that media commentary on the Rittenhouse trial could undermine the public’s confidence.
“There are people in the media, on reputable sites, that are saying things that are totally bizarre,” he said.
