Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged with the deaths of two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, will be spending more time in Illinois as the judge handling the case postponed his extradition until next month. Rittenhouse has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of Joseph Rosenbaum, first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Anthony Huber, and attempted first-degree intentional homicide for allegedly wounding Gaige Grosskreutz. Rittenhouse allegedly drove from his home in Antioch, Illinois to Kenosha during the third night of protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by a police officer on Sunday.
Rittenhouse was arrested on Wednesday and charged Thursday in Kenosha County. He did not attend the hearing in Waukegan, Illinois on Friday, reports NPR. It lasted 10 minutes and ended with the judge delaying the next extradition status hearing until Sept. 25 to allow Rittenhouse to hire a legal team. In addition to the deaths of Rosenbaum, 36, and Huber, 26, and the wounding of Grosskreutz, 26, he was also charged with misdemeanor possession of a dangerous weapon under the legal age of 18. The criminal complaint said Rittenhouse used an AR-15-style rifle, as seen in the viral social media photos and videos of Rittenhouse.
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Lawyer L. Lin Wood’s #FightBack Foundation said it plans to represent Rittenhouse, reports the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Wood gained national attention by representing Nicholas Sandmann, the Covington Catholic High School student who sued CNN and The Washington Post in 2019. Wood’s foundation plans to take donations of Rittenhouse’s legal defense and will launch a website soon. He warned that his foundation will be the only approved fund for Rittenhouse’s legal fees. A Lake County, Illinois state’s attorney spokesman also told Reuters Rittenhouse plans to hire John Pierce, who has represented Rudy Giuliani and Carter Page in the past.
The protests in Kenosha began after Blake was shot in the back seven times by a police officer as he got into his car, with his children inside on Sunday. He was paralyzed from the waist down and remains in the hospital. Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr., said his son is handcuffed to his bed, even though he cannot move his legs. A GoFundMe fundraiser established by Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson, has raised over $2 million.
Cellphone video from Tuesday night’s protests showed Rosenbaum approaching Rittenhouse when he was carrying the rifle, according to charging documents, reports NBC News. Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum several times, the documents state. After the showing, people pointed out the shooter to authorities. Huber was one of the witnesses. He was carrying a skateboard in one hand and tried to grab Rittenhouse’s gun with the other, the documents state. Grosskreutz, who went to the protest as a volunteer medic and carried a gun, was shot in the arm. He is now recovering at a hospital after surgery.
