Prosecutors said Monday that Kyle Rittenhouse instigated the fatal shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year, by pointing his AR-15-style weapon at Joseph Rosenbaum. The closing arguments for his murder trial,
“That’s what fueled this whole incident,” prosecutor Thomas Binger said. “When the defendant instigates the incident, he loses the right of self-defense. You cannot claim self-defense against the threat posed by you.”
In response, defense attorney Mark Richards stated that Rittenhouse had not acted recklessly when he fatally shot Rosenbaum, which Richards argued had threatened him, followed him, at Tossed a plastic bag and lunged for his gun.
Richards said, “When my client shot Joseph Rosenbaum, he feared for his life. He was afraid because of his prior threats, prior statements, and the violent activities my client witnessed.”
The duel closing argument, which took up most of Monday, came at the end of a two-week trial uncovered by emotional and rosy Rittenhouse’s own testimony, who said he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot Rosenbaum.
The teenager was then followed by a mob of people, and Rittenhouse testified that he fired a shot at a man who had tried to kick him in self-defense; mortally shot Anthony Huber, who had hit him with a skateboard; and shot Gage Grosskretz, who was armed with a pistol. Rosenbaum and Huber killed, and Grosskreutz was injured.
The group of 18 jurors will be narrowed down to 12 this morning and then the trial of the case will begin.
Earlier Monday, Judge Bruce Schroeder A misdemeanor weapon charge dismissed against Rittenhouse, now 18. He still faces five felony charges and, if convicted on the most serious charge, could face a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Schroeder also read a set of legal instructions to the jurors and informed them that they would be allowed to try the lesser-involved offenses in two of the five cases.
The trial featured more than a dozen videos from the night of August 25, 2020, showing what happened before, during and after the shooting. Much of the facts of what happened that night were not up for debate—rather, the heart of the trial was an analysis of Rittenhouse’s actions and whether they could be considered “appropriate.”
Prosecution rested his case last Tuesday and defense rest on friday,
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