Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyer claims that his 17-year-old client, who is charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of two people last week in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is a victim.
“Where are the charges for aggravated assault against Kyle Rittenhouse?” John Pierce asked Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday night.
The lawyer appeared on Carlson’s show to make the case that Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense during a protest Tuesday night in response to the police killing of Jacob Blake earlier this month.
In the first incident, evidence indicates that one shot was fired before Rittenhouse fired his weapon. Pierce claims that Rittenhouse was chased by a mob that said “they wanted to kill him” before this shooting took place.
Rittenhouse ran over to assess the shooting victim. Richie McGinniss of the Daily Caller attempted to render aid to the victim and says he told Rittenhouse to call 911. Instead, according to the teenager’s lawyer, Rittenhouse called a friend.
As Rittenhouse ran away from the scene, someone in the video could be heard saying, “I just killed somebody.”
In the second incident, video shows Rittenhouse tripped, and as someone came over the top of him, he fired that weapon again. One man, whose arm was injured by Rittenhouse, was carrying a handgun when he approached the teenager.
Pierce said that Rittenhouse was in Kenosha because a local business owner called the 17-year-old to ask if he would help defend his business. “Kyle and his friends decided that nobody was doing anything to protect that community, and they decided that they would answer that call and help to protect that business,” he claimed.
L. Lin Wood, another attorney for Rittenhouse, said that the rifle Rittenhouse carried was not his own but that of a close friend. For that reason, Rittenhouse’s attorneys claim the gun never crossed state lines.
“As a 17-year-old, he was legally entitled to have that firearm in his possession,” Pierce said. “This is 100% self-defense, Tucker.”
The two people who were killed that night have been identified as Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 29. A third person, Gaige Grosskreutz, was wounded in one of his arms.
Rittenhouse remains in custody in Illinois pending an extradition to Wisconsin. A judge delayed an extradition hearing until Sept. 25.
