Before closing arguments on Monday, Kyle Rittenhouse’s attorneys accused prosecutors of intentionally providing drone footage of last year’s protest shooting at a lower resolution than what they have.
Rittenhouse’s attorneys sought a mistrial regarding the video, which prosecutors said is integral in proving that the teen did not act in self-defense as he first pointed his gun at a bystander. The state has claimed Joesph Rosenbaum, 36, chased Rittenhouse, then 17, across a car lot in Kenosha, Wisconsin, before Rittenhouse turned around and fatally shot him four times, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The defense’s motion also sought a mistrial on the basis that Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger questioned Rittenhouse, 18, about not speaking to police following his arrest — which is permitted under his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.
According to the New York Post, Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder is likely to rule on the motion after juror deliberations, which went into their second day Wednesday. The motion seeks to have the case against Rittenhouse dismissed with prejudice, meaning he could not be prosecuted again if Judge Shroeder grants a mistrial.
Rittenhouse is charged with reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, and attempted first-degree intentional homicide, for the August 2020 shooting that killed Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, 26, and injured a third man. At the time, demonstrators were in Kenosha protesting the officer-related shooting of Jacob Blake, who was paralyzed after being shot seven times in the back.
Rittenhouse, who is from Illinois, was accused of using an illegally-obtained AR-15-style weapon to carry out last year’s shooting in Wisconsin. He claimed while at the protest, he was hit in the head and neck with a baseball bat and skateboard. While medics reportedly observed superficial scratches on his arm, they did not see any bruising or cuts.
Rittenhouse’s friend, Dominick Black, 19, allegedly asked Rittenhouse to join him in protecting a Car Source business during the protest. However, multiple reports indicated that the owner of the Car Source never asked the pair to guard his business.
Black was arrested last November for allegedly buying the gun Rittenhouse used in the deadly shooting. Black allegedly used Rittenhouse’s money to make the purchase in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, but the weapon was registered to Black’s name.
After the shooting, Black allegedly drove Rittenhouse back to Antioch, Illinois, where Rittenhouse was arrested days later.
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[Featured image: Kyle Rittenhouse/Antioch Police Department, YouTube Video Screengrab]
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