On Tuesday, jurors were preparing to start deliberating in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial following two weeks of testimony.
As reported by the Associated Press, Rittenhouse, a former police youth cadet from Antioch, Illinois, could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted after he shot three men with an AR-15 rifle in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a series of protests against racial injustice in the summer of 2020.
Of the three he shot, two died and one was injured. Rittenhouse and the victims are all white. On Monday, the prosecutors and defense attorneys on the case painted two very different images of the events that night.
The prosecutors argued that Rittenhouse was a “wannabe soldier” who instigated the shooting by bringing a semi-automatic weapon to the protest and then walked out of it like a “hero in a Western.”
However, Mark Richards, Rittenhouses’ lawyer, argued that the young man, who was 17 at the time of the incident, shot at the protestors in self-defense. The defense argued that Rittenhouse was ambushed by “a crazy person,” causing him to worry that his gun would be taken and used to kill him. According to the AP, video footage and eyewitness testimonies were used to corroborate claims that victim Joseph Rosenbaum chased and attempted to grab Rittenhouse’s rifle.
Of the 18 jurors who have been hearing the case, only 12 will determine Rittenhouse’s fate. The other six will be named alternatives.
During the closing arguments, prosecutor Thomas Binger said that Rittenhouse was “looking for trouble that night” and played the jury drone video showing Rittenhouse pointing the firearm at protestors.
“This is the provocation. This is what starts this incident,” Binger declared. “You lose the right to self-defense when you’re the one who brought the gun, when you are the one creating the danger, when you’re the one provoking other people.”
Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, were shot and killed by Rittenhouse. Gaige Grosskreutz, now 28, was wounded.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Pool
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. He is also the co-hosts of the For Your Soul podcast, which seeks to equip the church with biblical truth and sound doctrine. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.
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