MURDER RAP
Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse WILL face trial for murder after killing BLM protesters
KYLE Rittenhouse will stand trial for murder after the shootings of three Black Lives Matter protesters in August, a court has ruled.
Rittenhouse, 17, from , allegedly killed two people and injured a third during protests over the police shooting of in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
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Kenosha County Court Commissioner Loren Keating ruled yesterday that there was enough evidence for Rittenhouse to stand trial on charges of homicide.
She also rejected an attempt by Rittenhouse's lawyer to have two charges - one for possession of a firearm by a minor and one of two for reckless endangerment - dropped.
Rittenhouse was last month after supporters were able to raise a $2million bond.
He appeared yesterday in court remotely from his lawyer's office, but did not enter a plea or saying anything during the hearing.
Rittenhouse is accused of shooting dead Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, as well as wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, 22, on August 25.
He will be tried for first-degree intentional homicide for Rosenbaum's death, first-degree reckless homicide for Huber's, and attempted first-degree intentional homicide for the shooting of Grosskreutz.
His lawyers claim he acted in self-defense.
'NO REGRETS'
On the night of the shooting, Rittenhouse travelled to Wisconsin to take part in vigilante patrols whose organisers said were intended to protect the city from unrest and looting.
The days previous had seen widespread protests sparked by a viral video showing police shooting 29-year-old African American Jacob Blake seven times in the back after he reportedly resisted arrest.
Footage showed Rittenhouse appearing to shoot Rosenbaum following a confrontation, then Huber and Grosskreutz as they later tried to subdue him.
His attorneys claimed he had gone to the city to fulfil a "patriotic and civil duty... during a destructive insurrection”.
Speaking to the before his release, he was asked whether he regretted carrying a gun on the night of the shootings.
“No, I don't," he said.
"I feel I had to protect myself. I would have died that night if I didn’t.
"I was going into a place where people had guns. And God forbid, somebody brought a gun to me and decided to shoot me.
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"I wanted to be protected, which I ended up having to protect myself. "
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Rittenhouse is due to be arraigned at the Kenosha County Circuit Court on January 5.
If convicted of intentional homicide, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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