Kyle Rittenhouse shot the teens in their families. A jury found Rittenhouse acted in self defence.
Rittenhouse (18) was found not guilty of all charges by the Kenosha jury. He claimed that he had acted in self defense during confrontations in violent demonstrations last summer.
Rittenhouse shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36-year-old, and Anthony Huber 26, 26 years old, and then fired a bullet which tore apart Gaige Grosskreutz’s 28-year-old arm.
Following the verdict, Anthony Huber’s family stated that “Today’s verdict does not mean there will be any accountability for the murderer of our son.”
“It sends out the unacceptable message to civilians armed with weapons can come into any town and incite violence. Then they use the danger created to justify firing on people,” the family statement continued.
From left, Kariann Swart, Joseph Rosenbaum’s fiancée, Susan Hughes, Anthony Huber’s great aunt, and Hannah Gittings, Anthony Huber’s girlfriend, react as Rittenhouse is found not guilty on all counts at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Thursday
Hannah Gittings (the late Anthony Huber’s girl) cries when Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty of all charges at Kenosha County Courthouse
Susan Hughes is Anthony Huber’s great aunt.
Hannah Gittings is Anthony Huber’s girlfriend and walks out of court following the end of the trial
Grosskreutz survived, and his testimony at trial was damaging for the prosecution. He admitted Rittenhouse fired on him only after he pointed his gun at the teenager.
The jury was not informed about criminal records of two victims. Huber has felony convictions in the case of false imprisonment and strangulation for domestic abuse. Rosenbaum was an accused of domestic abuse battery and was currently on bail.
Rittenhouse was not found guilty by the jury on all four charges. Rittenhouse is charged with two counts each of murder, attempted homicide in order to wound a third man and recklessly endangering life.
Rittenhouse broke down crying after the verdict, and fell to his knees on the floor. He was then helped back into his seat. Just after the judge warned that the courtroom should not speak or else, Rittenhouse collapsed to the floor and was helped back into his chair.
The jury — a couple of them wearing masks — showed no emotion as the verdicts were read after four torturous days of deliberation and weeks of testimony.
Rittenhouse’s mother Wendy was in the public gallery and burst into tears as the verdicts were read, while Rittenhouse victim Joseph Rosenbaum’s fiancée and victim Anthony Huber’s girlfriend and great aunt tearfully listen as their loved ones’ killer walked free.
Rittenhouse was taken out of court immediately after the verdict had been read. He was then driven to his waiting vehicle. While he was being driven off, Rittenhouse was smiling.
Two men in the public gallery did high-five each other but apart from that the ‘audience’ — as Judge Bruce Schroeder called them — remained quiet and filed out of the room.
Schroeder was then able to compliment the jurors’ attention and cooperation. He said, “I couldn’t wish for a better jury,” before reminding the jurors that they can be selected again within four years.
They were also informed that the court had given them the option to talk to the media about the case, but they could also refuse to do so. He did not release their names and said that any media inquiries would be dealt with by the court.
Kyle Rittenhouse is not guilty on any of the charges. At 12.15 on Friday, Kenosha in Wisconsin received the verdict. This raised fears about violence returning to Kenosha.
Hannah Gittings is the girlfriend of Anthony Huber and walks to the Kenosha County Courthouse following the verdict
Tanya McLean is the aunt of Jacob Blake and reacts to Kyle Rittenhouse’s verdict
Wendy Rittenhouse is reacting to Kyle Rittenhouse’s verdict at Kenosha County Courthouse that her son was not guilty of all charges
There was heavy police presence and several hundred protestors lined up outside the courthouse following the reading of the verdict. Some were carrying placards supporting Rittenhouse, others showing dismay.
Reuters spokeswoman David Hancock said that while Kyle is free to live his life in peace and innocence, it was a great relief for all of us. However, two lives were lost and there are still many losers.
Rittenhouse was called to testify in his defense in court’s dramatic moments. This risky move by Rittenhouse’s lawyers, given Rittenhouse’s youth and the possibility of cross-examination from the prosecution, was taken last Wednesday.
At one point, the teen began to sob but stressed that he only fired on men after being attacked.
He said, “I did everything I could to stop the person attacking me,”
Rittenhouse stated that Huber had hit him with a skateboard, and that Rittenhouse pulled on the weapon to shoot him.
Grosskreutz said that he fired upon Grosskreutz when the man pointed at him with the gun he had, which Grosskreutz later admitted under interrogation from the defense.
Rittenhouse stated that Rosenbaum was chased by Rittenhouse and he grabbed his gun.
Kyle Rittenhouse reacts on Thursday to the verdict of not guilty. His testimony indicated that he had acted in self defense
After the US jury found Kyle Rittenhouse ineligible for Kenosha County Courthouse protest shootings, two of whom were killed and one was injured, Kyle Rittenhouse supporters celebrated outside Kenosha County Courthouse.
A sign promoting the Revolutionary Communist Party was held by protestors in opposition to the guilty verdict
Moments after the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict is declared, people leave the Kenosha County courthouse
The verdict of Kyle Rittenhouse was announced outside Kenosha County Courthouse.
Joe Biden was the one who tweeted during last year’s campaign a link between Rittenhouse, white supremacists and he said that on Friday, he supported jury decision.
Other reactions showed deep partisan divides. This was met with anger by political leftists and celebrated by gun-rights supporters.
The Congressional Black Caucus stated in a statement that it was unconscionable for our justice system to allow an armed vigilante… freedom.
Although Rittenhouse, Rittenhouse, and all the other men that he shot were whitestuff, the case was still dominated by the vexing issue of race. On Friday, some Black activists claimed that the U.S. courts and police would have dealt the teenager harsher if the teenager had been Black.
However, conservatives interpreted the verdict to be a confirmation of the Second Amendment to U.S. Constitution that grants Americans the right-to-bear arms.
Madison Cawthorn from the United States, a Republican Representative from North Carolina said via Instagram, “Kyle Rittenhouse has not been guilty, my friends.” Your right to defend yourself is yours. You have the right to defend yourself.
