Everything You Need To Know About The Kyle Rittenhouse Trial

The murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse began last week, throwing the politically fraught case into the national spotlight again as the teen awaits his fate for shooting and killing two men and injuring another during riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin last summer.

The trial has had no shortage of passionate moments so far. The judge and the prosecution have clashed repeatedly, and Rittenhouse broke down in tears when he took the stand on Wednesday. When graphic footage of the shootings was played for jurors, several appeared visibly upset.

Meanwhile, the muddied facts of the case have become gradually clearer, relieving the case of some of the rumors that have plagued it for more than a year.

Rittenhouse was charged with five felony charges and one misdemeanor charge. The most serious charge is intentional homicide, Wisconsin’s top murder charge, while the others are reckless homicide, attempted homicide, two counts of reckless endangerment, and being a minor illegally in possession of a firearm. He was also charged with violating curfew, but that charge was dismissed by the judge on Tuesday. He has pled not guilty to all charges.

Rittenhouse, who is now 18, lives in Antioch, a northern suburb of Chicago about 15 miles from Kenosha. Rittenhouse’s lawyers have pointed out that his father lived in Kenosha and he worked in Kenosha County as a lifeguard. On August 25 of last year when he was 17, Rittenhouse decided to patrol the downtown Kenosha area alongside other armed men in order to protect a used car dealership from looting and vandalism. The city had devolved into rioting over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man, by a white Kenosha police officer. 

Rittenhouse armed himself with a Smith & Wesson M&P15, which is an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle that police say his friend, Dominick Black, illegally bought for him, as well as a medical kit. The gun was reportedly kept in a safe at Black’s stepfather’s house in Kenosha, and prosecutors acknowledged during the trial that Rittenhouse had not crossed state lines with the gun.

Shortly before midnight, Rittenhouse was accosted by protesters including Joseph Rosenbaum, who threw a plastic bag at him and who Rittenhouse says tried to grab his rifle. At that point, Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum four times, killing him.

The first shooting riled protesters, who chased Rittenhouse until he tripped and fell. A still unidentified man kicked Rittenhouse in the head, and Rittenhouse fired at him twice

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