US jury can consider Rittenhouse provoked deadly violence: Judge
The US judge in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who is charged with killing two people during racial justice protests last year, has allowed the jury to consider that Rittenhouse provoked the violence.
Rittenhouse shot the activists during protests in Wisconsin last year, following the police shooting and badly wounding of a Black man, Jacob Blake in Kenosha.
Rittenhouse, 18, is charged in the killing of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, in Kenosha on August 25, 2020.
Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder's ruling on Friday is a boost for prosecutors.
Prosecutors, who were seeking lesser charges for their young client, aim to argue that the teen had killed the protesters with his illegal assault rifle in self-defense.
With Schroeder's new ruling prosecutors can argue that Rittenhouse was the aggressor and he was ambushed and acted in a self-defense shooting 3 men, two of which had died.
“It’s the jury’s case and I think they should make the critical decisions,” Schroeder said on Friday. “My decision will be to submit the case to the jury with the provocation instruction and you can argue the strength or lack of strength of the evidence.”
The incident, which took place against a backdrop of days of rioting and arson, has divided the United States.
Those who support Rittenhouse, who was summoned from Illinois to Wisconsin by pro-Trump right-wingers, say the teen killed the protesters in self-defense
Others say Rittenhouse was a vigilante who intentionally plunged himself into a violent place.
Under Wisconsin law, if someone starts a fight they are required to exhaust all other options before using deadly force in self-defense.
So when Rittenhouse is considered as the aggressor, it could raise the bar for the defense.
Rittenhouse testified that the first man he shot in the protest with his AR-15-style rifle, had threatened to kill him and grabbed the barrel of his gun before he shot him dead.
He is charged with first-degree reckless homicide for killing Rosenbaum. He faces further charges for killing Huber and the wounding of Grosskreutz.
Right-wingers are portraying Rittenhouse as a hero.
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