Jury selection began Monday in the high-profile case of Kyle Rittenhouse, an Illinois teenager who is accused of shooting and killing two people and wounding another at a police brutality protest-turned-riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year.
Rittenhouse, a then-17-year-old youth cadet and part-time YMCA lifeguard, faces multiple charges, including two counts of first-degree homicide, attempted homicide, reckless endangerment, and a curfew violation. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted of first-degree homicide, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
His case has become a political and social lightning rod, pitting armed citizens against demonstrators who demanded change after Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey, a white man, shot Jacob Blake Jr., a black man, seven times at close range in the back.
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Blake’s shooting was one of several race-involved incidents that rocked the nation in 2020.
The incident was caught on video and brought hundreds to the small city nestled on the banks of Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Chicago. Peaceful protests gave way to violent clashes that ended in two deaths, several injuries, multiple arrests, and $50 million in damages. Rioters burned buildings, looted stores, and caused so much mayhem that it thrust the small manufacturing city into the national spotlight.
Rittenhouse said he went to Kenosha, about 15 miles from his home, on Aug. 25 in response to a call from a local militia group saying it hoped to patrol the streets and protect businesses from rioters.
When he arrived, the scene had already turned chaotic, with firebombs and the sounds of gunshots puncturing the air.
Video from the night shows Rittenhouse on the streets with his AR-style semiautomatic rifle and a medical kit slung over his shoulder. He told a reporter from the Daily Caller: “People are getting injured, and our job is to protect this business.”
He added: “Part of my job is to also help people. If there is somebody hurt, I’m running into harm’s way. That’s why I have a rifle.”
Rittenhouse’s attorneys will argue that Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, chased Rittenhouse in an attempt to steal his gun, forcing Rittenhouse to shoot him in self-defense. Video taken from that night does not show Rosenbaum’s death but does show him running toward Rittenhouse and appearing to throw a plastic bag at him before shots ring out, and Rosenbaum is seen dying on the ground. Other video from that night reportedly shows Rittenhouse moments later shooting and killing Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz.
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Rosenbaum had been released the day of his death from a Milwaukee hospital, where he had been treated for a suicide attempt. Huber, 26, was seen on video swinging a skateboard at Rittenhouse.
Grosskreutz, 27, lived in West Allis, about 30 miles from Kenosha. He attended several protests following George Floyd’s May 2020 death in Minneapolis. Grosskreutz, who had been trained as a paramedic, carried medical supplies the night of the riot. He had a pistol in his hand when he approached Rittenhouse, who shot him in the arm.
Rittenhouse was arrested on Aug. 26, 2020, and charged a day later. On Nov. 2, 2020, a Wisconsin court set his bail at $2 million. Conservative groups as well as actor Ricky Schroder and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell helped raise funds for his release.
Rittenhouse has been portrayed as a patriot and hero by some and portrayed by others as a trigger-happy vigilante.
His friend, Dominick Black, is accused of buying the AR-15-style rifle for him because Rittenhouse was not old enough to purchase one legally himself. Prosecutors will be able to tell the jury how Rittenhouse obtained the weapon but are barred from revealing that he used his federal stimulus money as well as unemployment benefits to buy the gun.
Black has been charged with two felony counts of supplying a dangerous weapon to a minor causing death. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.
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Courtroom powerhouse Mark Richards is leading Rittenhouse’s defense team. He was the assistant district attorney in Racine and Kenosha counties in the late 1980s before he went into private practice. Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger is the lead prosecutor on the case. He ran for district attorney in Racine County as a Democrat in 2016 but lost to a Republican.
Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder said he expects the trial to last two to three weeks.
Wisconsin’s longest-serving circuit judge delivered a blow to prosecutors last week after ruling Rittenhouse’s defense could refer to the people he shot as “rioters” and “looters” but said prosecutors could not refer to them as “victims.” Schroeder has been known to ban the word “victim” before unless an individual is the victim of a crime for which the perpetrator has already been convicted.
On Monday, he played courtroom Jeopardy! with prospective jurors to pass the time, which is something he does regularly, according to local media.
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So far, nearly 300 potential jurors have been called for the trial. The majority have been white. Some prospects were dismissed quickly — one man brought up the Second Amendment and “politics,” while several others said they don’t believe they’ll be able to silence their preconceived notions on the case.
One woman said she held strong religious beliefs that would prevent her from being impartial.
“For religious reasons, I really think thou shall not kill. I don’t know what else to say,” she said.
