Arguments conclude in Rittenhouse trial

The jury will return to the Kenosha, Wis., County Courthouse on Tuesday morning to deliberate over the evidence against Kyle Rittenhouse. The 18-year-old is charged in the shooting deaths of two people and the wounding of one during protests in August 2020. Right before closing arguments began on Monday morning, Judge Bruce Schroeder dropped a misdemeanor charge for possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor. The defense team argued the 1991 law applies to short-barreled guns, and Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, carried a rifle. Legal doctrine stipulates that unclear statutes must be read in favor of the defendant. Schroeder also dismissed a charge for breaking curfew under an emergency order. Rittenhouse faces five total charges. If convicted of the most severe, he could receive a sentence of life in prison.

What did each side argue? Prosecuting attorney Thomas Binger said Rittenhouse provoked conflict, which would mean that he does not have a right to claim self-defense. Defense lawyers argued that Rittenhouse only shot after a mob attacked him. They claimed the rioters posed a public threat, not the teen, and Rittenhouse only engaged with the people directly hitting and threatening him. Attorneys on both sides used Rittenhouse’s gun to demonstrate his actions, and both showed an array of videos taken on the night of Aug. 25, 2020. Around 500 National Guard troops are on standby outside Kenosha, Wis., in anticipation of protests following a verdict in the case.

Dig deeper: Read Rachel Lynn Aldrich’s Sift on the aftermath when a state prosecutor declined to file charges against the officer who shot Jacob Blake, whose case set off the 2020 protests in Kenosha.