Richards said the strategy smacked of desperation, noting that prosecutors had spent little time on the issue of provocation during two weeks of testimony - much of which was supportive of the teen's argument that he was attacked. Under Wisconsin law, a person who has provoked a confrontation must exhaust all other options before resorting to deadly force. Rittenhouse said Rosenbaum grabbed his rifle when he fired, fearing his weapon would be used against him.īy arguing that Rittenhouse was the aggressor, prosecutors were attempting to raise the bar for the teen's self-defense claim, making it easier for the jury to convict. Multiple witnesses testified that Rosenbaum, the first man Rittenhouse shot, screamed: "Fuck You!" as he charged and lunged at the teenager. While showing the jury a grainy drone video, Binger argued that Rittenhouse raised his rifle in a threatening wayas he entered a used-car lot, prompting someone to yell: "Gun, gun, gun" and for Rosenbaum to pursue the teen to "try and stop the defendant from pointing his gun or shooting anyone." Rittenhouse, who has pleaded not guilty and testified last week that he acted in self-defense, faces life in prison if convicted. That incident took place against the backdrop of nationwide protests over racism and police brutality following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, another Black man, by a policeman in Minneapolis.
The shootings took place in Kenosha during protests - marred by arson, rioting and looting - that followed the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, who was left paralyzed from the waist down Rittenhouse, 18, is charged with killing Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, 28, on Aug. "The district attorney is marching forward with this case because they need someone to be responsible." "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a political case," Richards said. Like Zimmerman, Rittenhouse has become a polarizing figure, viewed as heroic by some conservatives who favor expansive gun rights and as a symbol of a reckless American gun culture by many on the left. Richards said the media and Binger's office had been too quick to judge his client in what has emerged as the most closely watched case involving a civilian's right to self-defense since George Zimmerman was acquitted in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, in 2013. "Kyle was a 17-year-old kid out there trying to help this community," said Mark Richards, Rittenhouse's lawyer. The defense said Rittenhouse, who carried a medical kit in addition to his gun, merely wanted to help the injured and protect a used-car dealership from the kind of property damage that had marred protests in Kenosha over two previous nights. "If you created the danger, you forfeit the right to self-defense by bringing that gun, aiming it at people, threatening people's lives," said Binger, who aimed the gun in front of the jury to demonstrate. Instead, Binger argued, Rittenhouse instigated the first shooting by pointing his weapon at people, and caused the subsequent encounters by creating an "active shooter" situation in which protesters felt an urgency to disarm him. Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger told the jury to ignore Rittenhouse's argument that he was ambushed and fired his semi-automatic AR-15-style rifle in self-defense during the chaotic night of protests on Aug.
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