Rittenhouse was acquitted of all five felony charges, including first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to five charges. The misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18 was dropped before jury deliberations began.
There have been many dramatic moments during the trial, from Rittenhouse getting emotional on the witness stand, to Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder yelling at the prosecution, to a slew of controversies surrounding comments made by Judge Schroeder.
Live updates for this event have ended.
Nearly two dozen people assembled near the building with some holding “Free Kyle” signs in support of Rittenhouse and others shouting “No justice, no peace” in solidarity with those he shot and the Black Lives Matter movement. Police appeared to handcuff at least one woman Friday night, which angered the crowd, as the woman said she did not know why she was being arrested.
Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said on Thursday that the city was “prepared” for violence following the verdict but was not expecting much.
Hundreds more gathered across New York in Albany and Brooklyn to protest Rittenhouse’s acquittal. They demonstrate hours after a panel of 12 found 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts around 1:15 p.m. on Friday afternoon. As they read their verdict, Rittenhouse began to cry and collapsed into his seat while embracing his attorneys.
Although tensions were high on the courthouse steps following the verdict and there have been varying reactions on both sides, there have been no serious reports of violence or riots out of American cities as of Friday evening.
“GOA will be awarding Kyle Rittenhouse with an AR-15 for his defense of gun rights in America,” the organization wrote on Twitter. “Join us in saying THANK YOU to Kyle Rittenhouse for being a warrior for gun owners and self defense rights across the country!”
The organization separates itself from the National Rifle Association by taking a “no compromise” approach to gun rights, something they have publicly criticized the other pro-gun group for doing.
Antonia Okafor Cover, the director of outreach for GOA, said that the verdict in Rittenhouse’s trial is a “win for self-defense.”
“I don’t want to hear a thing about ’two americas…’ Honest gun owners have been treated as guilty until proven innocent by the courts and the public for a long time now. That transcends race, age, and gender,” she wrote on Twitter.
“GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit raising money for the legal defense of an alleged violent crime. In light of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, we want to clarify when and why we removed certain fundraisers in the past,” the crowd-funding platform said in a blog post.
Once charges were brought against Rittenhouse, fundraisers for his legal defense along with hundreds of others were removed from the website between August and December 2020 that were determined to be in violation of this long-standing policy, GoFundMe said.
“If someone is acquitted of those charges, as Rittenhouse was today, a fundraiser started subsequently for their legal defense and other expenses would not violate this policy,” the organization clarified.
That means fundraisers dedicated to paying lawyers, covering legal expenses or helping with ongoing living expenses for a person acquitted of charges would be eligible as long as none of the platform’s terms are violated—meaning the purpose must be clearly stated and the correct beneficiary is added.
Jesse McKinley, a reporter in Albany, New York, reported that a group of about 75 protesters began blocking traffic in front of Executive Mansion, the official residence of the Governor of New York, around 8:40 p.m. on Friday.
The group was chanting “Whose streets? Our streets!” in front of the building and one individual held a sign that read “Solidarity with Kenosha,” McKinley reported.
There are also protests underway in Brooklyn with hundreds gathering and chanting “Jacob Blake,” according to New York City-based journalist Ben Von Klemperer.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul wrote on Twitter that she was disappointed with the verdict.
“Kyle Rittenhouse used an assault weapon to kill two people. This is not justice,” she said Friday afternoon. “If there was any question about why we need strong gun safety laws, this is your answer. This should never have been allowed to happen in the first place. We have a lot of work to do.”
Concha appeared on the network’s The Story with Martha McCallum and reacted to previous footage of MSNBC host Joy Reid saying, “If you want to know why critical race theory exists, look no further than the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse” and “this feels like those cases in the 1950s where it was in and out, in and out, in and out fast. White male kills someone. In and out fast.”
He responded, “That was exhibit A, B, C, D and E right there. The next chapter in the Kyle Rittenhouse story are likely multiple defamation lawsuits against not only several media outlets but also MSNBC in particular and a host named Joy Reid, who we had the pleasure of hearing.”
“As for Mrs. Reid and multiple contributors calling Rittenhouse a racist, a white supremacist and, most importantly, guilty until proven innocent… I have got four words for you: ‘Covington Catholic Nicholas Sandmann’—who sued CNN for what, $275 million, and forced them to settle,” Concha continued, adding that “you will see the same kind of numbers” if Rittenhouse files a lawsuit.
“Given the precedence of Covington Catholic, [Rittenhouse] has a good shot to win or settle most likely,” he concluded.
Biden responded to the not guilty verdict saying that he by the decision. The President added that the jury system in the United States works and must be respected.
“The system is not broken. It works. In the favor of white supremacy,” Lizzo replied to a CNN tweet with Biden’s comments.
Writer Josie Duffy Rice, who served as the president of criminal justice news outlet The Appeal, echoed the rapper’s sentiments.
“i don’t believe this system is capable of conferring justice. its a system of cruelty, inequity, and barbaric punishment. and it makes all of us crueler in the process,” she tweeted.
Rice added, “we will not find solace in a violent system. we will not find justice in this cruel goliath. i want a world that addresses it all – all the indoctrination and brutality that lead to the pulling of the trigger. i want us to repair harm at its root.”
But others like former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat, said that the jury got the verdict right.
“The fact that charges were brought before any serious investigation is evidence that the government was motivated by politics, which itself should be considered criminal,” she tweeted.
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk also sent a message of support in favor of Rittenhouse.
“Kyle Rittenhouse gets to enjoy Thanksgiving with his family as a free man. This is justice,” he tweeted.
“My heart goes out to the families of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, who are left to grieve their painful losses. The Not Guilty verdict in the Rittenhouse Trial reminds us that gun violence and vigilantism, often laced with racism and pardoned when the vigilante is white, are alive and devastating in our country,” she said.
King continued that both the trial of Rittenhouse and the trial of Gregory and Travis McMichael and William Bryan in the homicide of Ahmaud Arbery highlights the “inequity and injustice within the United States justice system, and our moral obligation to transform it.”
“It is also necessary that we remember why people were protesting in Kenosha the tragic police shooting of Jacob Blake,” she said. “We still need well-constructed, humane legislation that deters brutality and racism in law enforcement. We also need gun law reform. This can’t wait.”
The activist concluded that she’d share more thoughts on the verdict in the coming days.
“The next Congress must pass legislation proclaiming November 19th ‘Kyle Rittenhouse Day,’ a new Federal Holiday,” the elected official tweeted.
Sabatini also liked a quote-tweet replying to his that said “if we can have Juneteenth” and retweeted a message from Adam Korzeniewski, a former political-consultant-turned-YouTube-personality known for racist pranks, about the Rittenhouse verdict.
“Notice most politicians and candidates never said anything in Kyle’s defense - only real guys like [Blake Masters, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Arizona], [Joe Kent, a Trump-endorsed congressional candidate for Washington] and @AnthonySabatini, and a few others were leading on Kyle’s innocence,” Korzeniewski wrote. “This is what leadership looks like under fire.”
“It’s hard to find the exact words to say in this type of situation,” she told the crowd in Kenosha on Friday.
“I don’t think that any of us that were directly involved in what happened last year on the 25th are really that surprised,” she said. “We know that this system is a failure. We know that this system doesn’t serve people like us or really anybody who was not directly involved in the system.”
Gittings continued, “I am especially not surprised at the outcome of this verdict for Anthony Huber, the love of my life. He had been f*cked by this system in every single way from his birth to his death.”
She concluded that she does not support violence and that people need to keep standing together to make a difference.
“I miss Anthony every single day. Every day I wish that I could come home to him and unload some of this weight that’s on my shoulders, but I can’t because he’s dead,” Gittings said. “And now this system is telling me that nobody needs to answer for that. And I have a problem with that.”
“Congratulations to Kyle Rittenhouse for being found INNOCENT of all charges,” the Republican wrote in a statement.
Trump continued, “It’s called being found NOT GUILTY—And by the way, if that’s not self defense, nothing is!”
The former president’s statement comes after President Joe Biden said earlier Friday that he stands behind the jury system and the panel’s decision while prosecutors admitted they were “disappointed” with the verdict.
The New York Democrat retweeted photos of Representatives Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar and Madison Cawthorn, three Republicans who suggested that they want the 18-year-old to work for them if he’s acquitted, and condemned the party.
“This comes just one day after [House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy] announced his intent to reward white supremacist members of Congress who incite violence,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in reference to McCarthy’s comments that he would give Gosar and Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene better committee assignments. The Democrat continued “Same party who just appointed 200+ judges, many unqualified, to federal courts-70% of whom were white men.”
Ocasio-Cortez concluded, “And that’s just scratching the surface.”
“No verdict will be able to bring back the lives of Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum or heal Gaige Grosskreutz’s injuries, just as no verdict can heal the wounds or trauma experienced by Jacob Blake and his family,” Evers said in a statement, adding that “we have work to do towards equity, accountability, and justice.”
He said the trial has “reopened wounds that have yet to be fully healed” in Kenosha and echoed law enforcement’s calls for peaceful demonstrations.
“We must have peace in Kenosha and our communities, and any efforts or actions aimed at sowing division are unwelcome in our state as they will only hinder that healing,” he said.
Evers said he is committed to ending violence in the community, supporting victims and building a state that is “just” and “equitable” for everyone.
BBC reporter Nomia Iqbal said several cars drove past the courthouse honking their horns and shouting “Free Kyle” and “We love the second amendment.”
Iqbal spoke with Jacob Blake’s uncle. He was in tears and expressed his shock at the verdict. He said he believed that if Rittenhouse had been a black teenager, “police would have shot him dead.”
While the reaction following the verdict has been largely peaceful, there have been some arguments and angry exchanges between the two opposing sides of the demonstration.
“While we are disappointed with the verdict, it must be respected,” Thomas Binger said in a statement. “We are grateful to the members of the jury for their diligent and thoughtful deliberations.
Binger added that the Kenosha community “has endured much over the past 15 months, and yet we remain resilient and strong.”
He asks that members of the community express their feelings about this verdict in “a civil and peaceful manner.”
“I stand by what the jury concluded,” Biden told reporters. “The jury system works and we have to abide by it.”
In a statement, Biden said the verdict left him feeling “angry and concerned” but he wants to focus on bringing Americans together.
“I know that we’re not going to heal our country’s wounds overnight, but I remain steadfast in my commitment to do everything in my power to ensure that every American is treated equally, with fairness and dignity, under the law,” Biden said.
Biden received backlash for a tweet where he seemingly equated Rittenhouse to a white supremacist.
During a press conference, Rittenhouse’s defense attorney Mark Richards called out Biden for making comments that are “untrue.”
Richards said his client is not a white supremacist and he is glad Biden respects the jury’s decision.
FULL STORY: Joe Biden Says ‘Jury System Works’ in Response to Rittenhouse Not Guilty Verdict
“To say that we were relieved would be a gross mis-understatement,” Richards said.
He said Rittenhouse is on his way home and wants to “get on with his life,” adding that Rittenhouse is feeling a “huge sense of relief” for what the jury did for him today.
“He did not start this,” Richards said. “We are thankful the jury finally got to hear the true story. The story that came out from the beginning was not the true story, that was something we had to work to overcome that in court.”
Richards added that he “had to” put Rittenhouse on the stand and waiting 25 hours for the verdict, the longest deliberation he’s been a part of, “was hell.”
He added that Judge Bruce Schroeder is a fair judge and criticized the prosecution.
“Prosecutors are supposed to seek the truth and it’s not about winning,” he said. “This case became about winning.”
Richards said his client will most likely move out of the area for safety reasons, adding that Rittenhouse is struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and “doesn’t sleep at night.”
FULL STORY: Rittenhouse Lawyer Highlights DA Binger ‘Mistakes’ as Prosecution Avoids Interviews
“There is no justice today for Anthony, or for Mr. Rittenhouse’s other victims,” Huber’s parents Karen Bloom and John Huber wrote.
They were not in the courtroom Friday because they “could not bear to sit in a courtroom and repeatedly watch videos of our son’s murder,” adding that they have been subject to “hurtful and nasty comments” over the past year.
They said they hoped the trial would give them closure but “this did not happen.”
“Today’s verdict means there is no accountability for the person who murdered our son,” they wrote.
FULL STORY: Anthony Huber Family Hoped Rittenhouse Verdict Would Bring Closure, ‘That Did Not Happen’
During a CNN interview with the family of Jacob Blake, an argument broke out between a Jacob Blake supporter and man over the fairness of the trial and the “all-white jury.”
The Blake supporter called the man holding a “Free Kyle” sign “ignorant.” The man claims he previously said he would respect the case verdict “regardless.”
“She’s wrong, she’s vocal but she’s wrong,” he said.
Blake is the Black man from Kenosha who was shot seven times by a police officer in the summer of 2020, sparking the Black Lives Matter protest where Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people.
Rittenhouse began to cry as the jury read their verdict. He collapsed into his seat and embraced his attorneys.
FULL STORY: Kyle Rittenhouse Found Not Guilty of Homicide by Kenosha Jury
The jury is on their way down to the courtroom now.
Judge Schroeder told the public in the courtroom that they cannot react to the verdict.
The jury has ended its deliberations, according to the New York Times. The verdict is expected to be delivered within the next hour.
The families of the people shot by Rittenhouse were told to go into the courtroom, according to reporters on the scene.
According to a pool reporter with the Law and Crime Network, the jury ordered Subway.
The jury has been deliberating for a total of 24 hours so far over the span of four days.
As the jury enters 24 hours of deliberation, Wisconsin defense attorney John Birdsall told Newsweek Kyle Rittenhouse’s legal team is “sweating.”
“I think the defense is sweating a little more [than the prosecution] because I think they felt far more confident—and had a right to feel confident,” Birdsall said.
An early verdict after one or two days of jury deliberation typically tends to favor the defense. But when jurors confer for three or more days, it indicated they are taking a close look over every detail.
“I think the state is happy that there’s an actual fight going on. There’s an actual discussion going on with the jurors,” Birdsall said. “And that’s pretty evident from what they asked to see. They came in to see the videos, they asked for the instructions.”
FULL STORY: Rittenhouse Jury Enters 24 Hours of Deliberation, Likely to Worry Defense, Experts Say
The state “firmly objects” to the motions, claiming “there is no factual or legal basis” for the Court to grant the motions for mistrial either with and without prejudice.
The state argues first, that the defendant’s previous attorney had the same quality video before the prosecution did and second, that the prosecution did not “intentionally cause the video sent to the defense to be compressed,” therefore proving there is no legal basis for a mistrial with prejudice.
“Until the error was discovered, the State believes the defense had an exact copy of the video provided to the State,” the prosecution wrote. “As soon as the discrepancy was discovered, the State immediately corrected it.”
In regards to the motion for a mistrial without prejudice, the state said there is no difference between the lower and higher-quality videos and the defense “has not identified any alterations or omissions” between the two versions.
“The 2 videos are the same length and show the same things,” the prosecution claims.
According to New York Times reporter Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, several jurors thanks the sheriff’s deputies for putting up a folding screen that blocked them from public view.
One woman said “it helps calm my nerves” and another noted the “media coverage is insane.” A man said he woke up at 3:30 a.m. and could not fall back asleep until 5 a.m.
Kenosha Sheriff David Beth was on the scene to maintain peace with cookies and coffee. One person was detained by police.
“We’re always concerned [that there will be violence],” Beth told Law &Crime Network Thursday. “We live in a community where violence does happen so could it happen? Absolutely it could.”
He said law enforcement has been prepared for the reaction to the trial verdict “for a couple of months” but he does not anticipate a mass outbreak of violence.
“All our intelligence says we’re not going to have a lot,” he said. “Actually other places in the country are more concerned that violence is going to break out.”
Beth added that he feels safe handing out cookies to the crowd of protesters at the courthouse.
“Everybody in the country should know, if this is as bad as it gets for people voicing their opinions, it’s not too bad,” he said.
There is just one small issue with the latest rumors: nearly all the videos and pictures are fake. The original claim appears to stem from a single clip of radio chatter where a patrol officer in the city confirms complaints about piles of bricks, which was genuine, but media generated thereafter had either been tampered with or was taken elsewhere.
FULL STORY: Are Photos of Random ‘Piles of Bricks’ in Kenosha Genuine?
The Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) told families last night that schools, including Harborside, Reuther, Brass, Frank and Washington, will be learning virtually through Friday “out of an abundance of caution” due to the proximity of the schools to the courthouse.
The district notes that officials “have not been advised of any existing imminent danger” but are taking the steps as a precaution.
“The five questions asked so far reflect jurors methodically reviewing the evidence,” former federal prosecutor Michael McAuliffe told Newsweek. “That’s an early, hopeful sign that they are working together to reach unanimity.”
Jurors have so far filed common requests, such as extra copies of the judge’s instructions, but other more complex questions have arisen, such as “Do we view video/photo in private or in courtroom?”
FULL STORY: Rittenhouse Jury Has Sent Court 5 Questions During Deliberations: What Are They On?
But references to Rosenbaum’s medication for bipolar and depression, and use of the words “irrational” and “crazy”, have caused controversy among some who believe the defense is promoting stigma against people with mental health issues.
Studies have shown that people with bipolar disorder and depression are more likely to hurt themselves than hurt others, National Alliance on Mental Illness Minnesota director, Sue Abderholden, told the Associated Press.
Tom Grieve, a Milwaukee attorney and former prosecutor who’s not involved in the case, told the Associated Press the move is “definitely unusual in my experience.”
Follow Newsweek’s liveblog throughout Friday for all the latest…
Earlier in the afternoon Thursday, the Kenosha Police Department announced they were investigating after a person who claimed to be an NBC or MSNBC reporter was allegedly trying to photograph jurors in the trial Wednesday night, which resulted in MSNBC being banned from the courtroom by Judge Schroeder on Thursday. The news network denied the allegations and said that a freelancer was issued a traffic citation near the jury van but had no intention of contacting the jurors.
There were no questions or requests from the jury following day the third day of deliberations, but one juror did ask the judge if she could bring the near 40-page jury instructions home with her, which the judge agreed to despite apparent disapproval from the defense over fears of at-home research.
Reporters in Kenosha said that although the jury looked tired, there didn’t appear to be any animosity between them—even as two mistrial requests from Rittenhouse’s defense loom over the case and risk reversing a potential guilty verdict.
Jurors return to the courtroom at 9 a.m. on Friday to try and reach a unanimous decision on the five felony counts that Rittenhouse faces.
Binger was seen wearing a heart-shaped pin with blue, pink and white stripes, representing the transgender pride flag, and a circular BLM pin. He was likely wearing the trans pride pin in recognition of Transgender Awareness Week which runs from November 13 -19.
The prosecutor has been seen wearing a number of lapel pins throughout the trial, including a Star Wars resistance pin, a Sherlock Holmes pin and a Milwaukee Brewers pin.
“So…@MSNBC is a domestic terror group…amirite? #RittenhouseTrial” the Republican tweeted.
NBC News denied allegations that a reporter tried to contact and photograph Rittenhouse jurors that resulted in the network getting banned from the courtroom. The network later responded that a freelancer had been issued a traffic citation near the jury van but they didn’t intend to contact the jury.
Jones, who now hosts a radio talk show on a Fox News-affiliated station in Missouri, was accused by Democrats of cyberbullying a legislative aide on Twitter last July, the Kansas City Star reported.
“The case provides a strong argument against the “good guy with a gun” argument,” the 21-year-old tweeted, sharing a New York Times opinion piece titled “The Truth About Kyle Rittenhouse’s Gun.”
Hogg continued, “The presence of guns made this situation go from violent to deadly to worse at every turn.”
The Parkland shooting occurred on February 14, 2018, when then 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff in the high school.
“By definition, Kyle Rittenhouse is not getting a fair trial,” Carlson said on Thursday before mentioning that a fight broke out between protesters as jurors deliberated the day before.
Carlson went on to mention that MSNBC was banned from the courtroom by Judge Bruce Schroeder after a freelance journalist was involved in an incident involving the jury.
“Now you don’t have to like Kyle Rittenhouse or what he did to see this as scary and wrong and a threat to all of us. It doesn’t matter who you voted for, it doesn’t matter what you thought of Donald Trump, that’s irrelevant,” Carlson said. “Withholding evidence in a criminal trial, intimidating jurors, these things threaten not just Kyle Rittenhouse, they threaten America’s system of impartial justice—which by the way is the best thing that we still have in this country.”
Ford Fischer, a journalist covering Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial, said that a handful of Black Lives Matter and pro-Rittenhouse supporters debated on Thursday night but most of the crowd went home.
Justin Blake, the uncle of 29-year-old Jacob Blake who was shot by Kenosha police last summer, has been leading chants over the past few nights as the group peacefully demonstrated.
However, the Republican said potential threats and intimidation accusations may be contributing to the length of the jury’s deliberation.
Johnson continued that the real tragedy is the trial is happening and added that it wouldn’t be occurring if Governor Tony Evers had responded quicker to the August 2020 protests.
“It’s the same reason when they boarded up storefronts in major metropolitan areas prior to the November [2020] election. It wasn’t in the event that Joe Biden got elected,” Johnson said later. “So the threats of violence primarily, not all the time, but primarily come from the left and of course the mainstream media won’t admit that.”
Speaking to reporters, Mark gave his thoughts on day three of deliberations and admitted he didn’t think the jury would take this long, and also suggested that he’s unsure if it will benefit Kyle Rittenhouse.
“I am also a little concerned that the jury can hear all of this and it may have a chilling factor on them,” he added in reference to the protesters outside the trial.
McCloskey was later asked what his thoughts are on reports that the jury feels intimidated by the crowds around the courthouse.
“Wouldn’t you be?” he replied. “That’s my thought about that. I mean they can hear it in there. They’ve got to know that the fate of one man they have directly in front of them is one thing but the fate of the city is another.”
Although some reporters have noted being able to hear the chants of protesters, it’s unclear if the jury can.
The protester was holding a sign with a shot labeled “poison” and included the messages “Do as They Say!” and “Good Little Sheep.”
Ford Fischer, a journalist covering the trial in Kenosha, said there have been a number of protesters debating issues unrelated to the case outside of the courthouse.
“One thing I can’t overstate is how the exterior of the courthouse in the #RittenhouseTrial has been used as a forum for broader culture war,” he tweeted.
“I thought, they’re 6-6 split. That’s what I thought,” Richards told the New York Times.
Shortly before the jury left for the evening, the Times reported that the defense attorney had entered the courtroom with rolled-up sleeves as jurors deliberated on Thursday.
When asked how he was feeling, Richards replied, “Worse than I was yesterday,” and added that he hoped to shift the energy by walking around the courtroom.
They’ve worked for around 23 hours so far and will return for day four at 9 a.m. on Friday. Judge Bruce Schroeder acknowledged that the trial surpassed its anticipated Tuesday end date.
One juror asked the judge if she could bring the 40-page jury instructions home with her, and he approved but reminded her that she cannot discuss the case with anyone else. The defense appeared to be concerned the juror would think too much about the definitions of instructions.
Kline was asked by Kenosha police to put his rifle away Wednesday because he was not allowed to carry a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school if he did not have a permit. He complied returned unarmed later that day and again on Thursday carrying what appeared to be a gun case.
He referred to himself as “Maserati Mike” earlier but shouted to the crowd outside the courthouse Thursday that he is “prior Ferguson police Officer Jesse Kline.”
Ferguson Police Chief Frank McCall Jr. confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Kline was fired from the Ferguson Police Department several years ago.
He was charged with stalking, unlawful use of a weapon and assault after he allegedly followed a woman to another man’s home and pointed his gun at the man’s chest.
The charges were dropped in January 2020 because the couple refused to testify, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Several social media posts include outdated images of brick piles and an auto recording of police discussing bricks at a specific location near a building site.
The Kenosha Police Department (KPD) told Newsweek that it has received “calls from concerned citizens reporting seeing these social media disinformation campaigns.”
“We have been on the lookout for things that could be used as projectiles against police and infrastructure. Our officers have not found anything to substantiate any of the claims being made on social media,” the KPD public inquiry officer wrote in an emailed statement.
The KPD tweeted about “numerous attempts by malicious actors to spread disinformation” online.
“There are no credible threats to public safety,” the department said in a tweet Wednesday.
FULL STORY: Fact Check: Are Photos of Random ‘Piles of Bricks’ in Kenosha Genuine?
The person was handcuffed and put in the back of a police car. It is unclear whether the individual was armed.
Taylor gave out hand warmers to those who wanted them.
According to the Weather Channel, temperatures in Kenosha, Wisconsin have been in the low to mid-30s Thursday.
The man, identified as “Mazerati Mike” by journalist Sergio Olmos, said the case was “just a bag.”
A group of racial justice protesters chanted “we won’t be intimidated” as the man walked past them.
The man was told by police Wednesday that he could not carry his rifle at the courthouse because they were within 1,000 feet of a school.
With a sign that reads “cookies for peace,” Sheriff David Beth hopes to bring people together with a cup of coffee on a cold day.
“If we can help anybody be safe today, that’s what we’re here for,” he told reporters.
In a statement, NBC said the person who received the traffic citation is a freelancer.
“While the traffic violation took place near the jury van, the freelancer never contacted or intended to contact the jurors during deliberations, and never photographed or intended to photograph them,” the statement said.
“We regret the incident and will fully cooperate with the authorities on any investigation,” NBC added.
He said a man identified as “James G. Morrison” claimed to be a producer with MSNBC under the supervision of a producer in New York to follow the jury bus. He was pulled over by police after he ran a red light.
Judge Schroeder said the jury is transported from a different location to the courthouse in a “sealed bus” with covered windows.
This incident is still under investigation and the judge said no one from MSNBC will be permitted in the courtroom for the remainder of the trial.
“This is a very serious matter and I don’t know what the ultimate truth of it is,” he added.
The suspect was taken into police custody and “issued several traffic-related citations,” according to police.
“There was no breach of security regarding the jury, nor were there any photographs obtained,” Kenosha police said in a tweet.
The suspect allegedly followed jurors, claiming to be a reporter with NBC or MSNBC, according to multiple reports.
The defense and prosecution briefly met with the judge in his chamber this morning to discuss the incident, according to New York Times reporter Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs.
The now-deleted tweet showed a screenshot from a local Facebook group called “Kenosha Area Police Scanner” that said “Shooting near protest about the current trial.”
Police called this post “another disappointing attempt at disinformation.”
“There was no shooting at or near the Kenosha County Courthouse as reported on this Facebook page,” police confirmed in a tweet.
This comes as a motion for mistrial looms over the case.
Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyers initially claimed the prosecution intentionally gave them a lower-quality version of crucial drone footage. The defense later changed their request upon further investigation, dropping the claim of prejudice on the part of the prosecution.
The prosecution claims they did not deliberately alter the file and that it was compressed went sent over email, unbeknownst to the state.
Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi said they did not have the same evidence as the prosecution until the trial was closed and that having higher quality video earlier would have altered their argument strategy.
“It’s not debatable that it’s fair what happened,” he said.
Chirafisi noted their motion would call for a mistrial without prejudice, meaning the state can retry the case against Rittenhouse again so everyone “can have the same information and same quality of videos.”
The prosecution called this request “inappropriate.”
“I do not believe an unknown technical incident should result in a mistrial,” prosecutor James Kraus said.
FULL STORY: Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Drone Footage Could Prove ‘Ugly’ for Prosecution
The 18-year-old’s defense team filed a motion for a mistrial over “prosecutorial overreaching” and the withholding of high-resolution drone footage that’s considered key video evidence. They accused prosecutors of deliberately withholding the footage because of prejudices toward Rittenhouse, and argued that any conviction should be overturned without the chance for a retrial. It is the defense’s second mistrial request.
When jurors asked if they could rewatch video footage, the defense objected to allowing them to view the drone video at the center of their motion. Judge Bruce Schroeder also criticized the local media for reporting it was “odd” that he hadn’t ruled on the motion and said both the defense and prosecution are typically given the opportunity to respond before he rules on the motion to dismiss.
But as the jury deliberated and protests continued outside the Kenosha County Courthouse, tensions escalated and chaos erupted between Black Lives Matter and pro-Rittenhouse groups. A 20-year-old man and a 34-year-old female were arrested in connection to the incident.
After about 17 hours total of deliberation, the jury was dismissed Wednesday and is set to return for the third day at 9 a.m. on Thursday. Rittenhouse faces five felonies in connection to the shooting, including a first-degree intentional homicide that carries a mandatory life sentence, but jurors can consider lesser charges for some of the offenses.
“More broadly, what you have is Rittenhouse is being portrayed as a kind of symbol of the Trump movement,” D’Souza said, adding that the prosecution characterized Rittenhouse as sympathetic towards the Proud Boys.
He continued, “They wanted to try to make Rittenhouse a symbol for Trump’s America. By contrast, the rioters, the looters, the arsonists—this is Antifa. These are the people that the media has protected for a year.”
D’Souza continued that there are two rival narratives in the case and criticized the media and the left for trying to make Rittenhouse a stand-in for the entire Make America Great Again movement.
The Florida Republican told conservative network Newsmax on Wednesday that Rittenhouse is innocent.
“He is not guilty,” Gaetz said with no verdict reached after the second day of jury deliberations.
He continued, “He deserves a not guilty verdict, and I sure hope he gets it because you know what, Kyle Rittenhouse would probably make a pretty good congressional intern. We may reach out to him and see if he’d be interested in helping the country in additional ways.”
Gaetz is currently the subject of his own investigation. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating the congressman for allegedly sex-trafficking a minor though Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.
Carlson asked Kelly if he agrees that prosecutors were arguing that Rittenhouse didn’t have the right to protect his life.
“That’s the take-away they’re going to get from it, Tucker, because it’s their entire world view. It’s hard for Americans to accept, it’s hard for me to accept where we are as a country. Where we are is people in positions of power now, they’re the crazed nut job that used to be on the street corner protesting, the man-hating feminist who used to hide in her apartment hammering Nutter Butters. These people are now CEOs, they’re district attorneys, they’re senators, they’re presidents, and that’s why you see this,” Kelly said, before adding that people believe Rittenhouse should not have acted.
He continued, “They believe they have a right before God, their communist God, to burn this country down.”
“Law enforcement took two people into custody regarding an incident that occurred on the courthouse steps. A 20-year-old male was arrested for battery, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. A 34-year-old female was arrested for disorderly conduct,” police said in a statement.
The statement added that law enforcement had to deploy several officers to keep crowds of citizens and media from interfering. They also reminded both the media and the public to give space for police to perform their duties.
Kathryn Roshe, a business owner who lives in town, told NewsNation reporter Brian Entin that she hopes the community remains peaceful despite the outcome.
“The fact that I have to worry if my town and my children can be safe is not okay,” she said. “My hope is that if everybody is going to protest, which they are right now, is if they could just be peaceful. Don’t burn the town, don’t wreck the businesses.”
Roshe added that they do not live in the wealthiest area of Kenosha and many people rely on their businesses to get by—adding that many in town were affected by the damage last year and may not be able to afford new repairs.
She said, “If my business is gone, I have 6 kids, I have a newborn, I would not be able to take care of my children.”
Leading a group of racial justice activists, Blake chanted “seven shots in the back, that ain’t right” and “if we don’t get it, shut it down” on the courthouse steps following the jury’s dismissal.
Blake was also seen carrying a Pan-African flag and protesting police earlier in the day after law enforcement arrested two people following an altercation outside of the hearing.
Reporter Michael Tarm said that reporters looked fatigued at the end of their second day but didn’t show any signs of tension. He added that the judge reminded jurors not to discuss the case, with the group nodding and smiling at him. One juror even joked that she didn’t sit in the judge’s chair while they were reviewing drone video in the courtroom alone.
The jury has been deliberating for 17 hours total and will begin the third day of deliberations at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Footage from reporters on the scene shows two protesters arguing on the steps of the courthouse and calling each other profanities.
One protester wearing a black coat and sunglasses holding a “BLM and Antifa are here” sign calls the other protester wearing a black “Fck Kyle” shirt a “dumb bitch” and the man throws his sign at them in response.
The protester attempts to grab the man’s sign from the ground and break it but another individual grabs it to stop them—and both fall to the ground.
The man in the black shirt comes back to grab his sign and ends up punching a different person in the face as they come behind him resulting in clashes between more protesters.
Kenosha police intervened and arrested at least two people.
A video from reporter Kristen Barbaresi shows police keeping the crowd away from a person laying face down on the ground. Several people can be heard shouting “shots were fired,” but there is no official confirmation of gunfire.
Police are trying to control the crowd. Spectrum News reporter Megan Marshall said “things got physical between both sides” of the crowd.”
After the defense called for a mistrial over the quality of video evidence they received, protesters chanted “no mistrial.”
The demonstrations remain mostly peaceful, with occasional arguments and yelling between protesters and Rittenhouse supporters, according to reporters on the scene.
Jurors asked to see the video taken by Gaige Grosskreutz after Kyle Rittenhouse shot Joseph Rosenbaum and the “BG on The Scene” video that shows the second incident involving Anthony Huber.
They also asked to see the disputed drone video at the center of the defense’s mistrial request.
Judge Schroeder said he will allow the jury to watch the drone footage but said it poses a risk for the prosecution. If the video proves to be unreliable, Schroeder said “it’s going to be ugly” for the prosecution.
The courtroom has been totally cleared of everyone but the jury and cameras in the court have been turned off.
He said he feels the trial should be a “pursuit of truth” and if the jurors “want to be able to see [the video] 80 times…they should be able to.”
Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi objected to this notion. He said the jury should see the video once, citing a past case as precedent.
“We object to it being played over and over,” he said.
Prosecutor James Kraus said the case law the defense cited does not apply in this instance, noting the case referred to video statements, not videos of “incidents.” He believes the jury should be allowed to watch, rewind, pause, restart “as they see fit.”
Judge Schroeder said the jury should watch the requested videos on a clean laptop with nothing else on it.
Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi said they would have argued the case differently if they had known about the video’s quality.
He said they want a “clear, fair playing field” since their client is facing a life sentence.
“It’s not debatable that it’s fair what happened,” he said.
Chirafisi noted this would be a mistrial without prejudice, meaning the state can retry the case against Rittenhouse again so everyone “can have the same information and same quality of videos.”
Prosecutor James Kraus said that the issue arose because when the video was AirDropped, the quality was maintained but when it was emailed, it was compressed.
Kraus called the motion for a mistrial “inappropriate” and should not be granted.
“I do not believe an unknown technical incident should result in a mistrial,” he said.
The defense claims the prosecution intentionally sent them a lower-quality version of key drone footage.
The prosecution denied altering the video and said they did not know there was an issue.
“As far as we knew until we had this hearing on Friday, everyone had the exact same copy,” Assistant District Attorney James Kraus said.
Kraus said he could not AirDrop the video footage to the defense because Wisco has an Android cellphone. Kraus, therefore, had to email the evidence. Kraus argues the email compressed the video, thus delivering a lower quality.
Defense attorney Natalie Wisco noted that most of the evidence has been shared over DropBox. She also said she confirmed the file she received was 4 MB but the original video the prosecution had was 11 MB and claims the metadata from the files does not match up.
Judge Schroeder said this matter will require expert testimony and testimony from the parties involved under oath.
“Given the cloudy picture of this particular exhibit, this is a high-risk strategy in this case,” he said. “I was queasy about this in the beginning and I am only queasier about it now.”
He defended his decisions to not allow lawyers to refer to the people who were killed as “victims” and to allow the Rittenhouse to draw slips of paper to determine which jurors were dismissed.
The practice of allowing the defendant to draw juror names originated after “bad optics” from a case where a clerk eliminated the only Black juror in a case with a Black defendant.
“I think people feel better when they have control,” he said. “So ever since that case, I’ve had an almost universal policy of having the defendant do the picks.”
He added that he “never had a complaint about it before.”
Judge Schroader said that the criticism of his handling of the trial in the media comes from “people who want to undermine the outcome of the trial” and called reporting on the hearings “grossly irresponsible.”
“I’m going to think long and hard about a live television trial again, next time,” he said, calling the media coverage of the trial “frightening.”
The subjects of the questions are unknown.
Judge Schroeder has returned to his chamber and the attorneys are currently setting up monitors in the courtroom, according to the pool reporter in the court.
He called out local media reports that said it was “odd” that he has not ruled on the motion to dismiss.
Judge Schroeder said such motions should be kept under advisement until both parties have the opportunity to respond, noting the protection did not have a chance to do so during the “heat of the discussion” when the oral motion was made.
“So why anyone would think it’s odd for the judge to sit on a motion to dismiss, I have no idea,” he said.
Judge Schroeder ruled that the jury should watch video evidence in the court and sent a note back to them asking for a specific description of which videos they want to see.
There was some debate over how many times the jury should be allowed to watch the videos. The prosecution said the jury should watch it as many times as they wish but the defense argued they should not get to watch it over and over again.
The defense also objected to the drone video, as it is the subject of their mistrial motion. Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said he will research the law on how many times the jury can view the video and photo evidence.
The judge plans to clear the courtroom of media and other public spectators.
Judge Schroeder and Rittenhouse himself have also entered the courtroom.
The jury asked if they should view video footage in private or in the courtroom.
The motion mentions the prosecution’s questioning of Rittenhouse’s right to remain silent during his testimony. At the time, Judge Bruce Schroeder said the prosecution was “on the border line” of a “grave constitutional violation.”
The motion also mentions an attempt to introduce evidence the judge ruled was not permitted during pre-trial discussions.
The defense also claims the prosecution held back the high-resolution drone footage that is “at the center of this case.” The defense claims they initially received a lower-quality version of the video and only got the better-quality clip, which the prosecution already used, on Saturday after testimony ended.
“The failure to provide the same quality footage in this particular case is intentional and clearly prejudices the defendant,” the motion states.
Any conviction should be overturned without the chance for a retrial, the motion argues.
The defense previously called for a mistrial with prejudice last week ahead of closing arguments.
Rittenhouse supporters and Black Lives Matter protesters clashed during jury deliberations Tuesday as tensions over the possible verdict grew.
FULL STORY: Kyle Rittenhouse Supporters and BLM Protesters Clash Outside Courthouse Ahead of Verdict
Judge Bruce Schroeder is presiding over an unrelated hearing Wednesday morning.
