An Illinois judge has granted a request to extradite Kyle Rittenhouse to Wisconsin, where he will face homicide charges.
The 17-year-old is accused of fatally shooting two protesters and wounding another in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a late August riot following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. His lawyers have argued he was acting in self-defense.
Judge Paul Novak determined after a Friday hearing to grant the extradition request, which Rittenhouse’s team opposed.
Rittenhouse faces six criminal charges, including one count of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of first-degree reckless homicide.
After the shootings, the teenager returned to Illinois, his home state, before he was arrested and held there.
Rittenhouse’s legal team argued that extraditing its client would be a violation of his constitutional rights and that it would be like turning him “over to the mob.”
A lawyer for Rittenhouse tweeted earlier that his team would appeal a decision by Novak should he rule unfavorably to the group, according to the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal.
The teenager told reporters on the scene that evening that he was in Kenosha to protect a car dealership from rioters.
At one point in the evening, Rittenhouse was involved in a scuffle where a shot was fired by someone else. Rittenhouse says he believed himself to be in danger, so he fired his own weapon. Video shows Rittenhouse being chased from the scene. He tripped and claims he felt threatened by those approaching him, so he fired his weapon again.
Rittenhouse’s case has become a rallying point for those on the Right who say that more has to be done to prevent destruction by rioters.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this piece said Kyle Rittenhouse was facing two counts of first-degree intentional homicide. We regret the error.
