Rittenhouse jury leaves for the weekend

Attorneys debated Friday over what instructions to give the 18-member jury before closing arguments on Monday. After closing arguments, 12 names will be randomly selected to begin deliberations. Judge Bruce Schroeder ruled that the jury is allowed to consider lesser charges for 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who is charged with homicide and endangerment counts in the killings of two men in Kenosha, Wis., and the wounding of a third. The deaths took place during anti-police protests and riots in the summer of 2020.

What has happened in the trial so far? On Thursday, the defense rested its case after 2½ days of testimony. The prosecution ran five days of testimony arguing that Rittenhouse was a violent instigator. The defense attempted to show that he was acting in self-defense. Schroeder snapped at prosecuting attorneys multiple times during the week over out-of-bounds questions that prompted the defense to demand a mistrial. Rittenhouse spoke in his defense on Wednesday and broke down crying on the bench when he described the events of Aug. 23. Gaige Grosskreutz, the man Rittenhouse wounded and a witness for the prosecution, admitted that he aimed a gun at Rittenhouse first. If convicted of the most serious charges, Rittenhouse would receive a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Dig deeper: From the archives, read Anna Johansen Brown’s report from Kenosha after the unrest there in August 2020.