The case against Kyle Rittenhouse is expected to go to the jury soon as the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin braces for a potentially violent response.
“I’m scared. I am overwhelmed,” said the defendant’s mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, in an interview with NBC News on Monday, saying that the jury had her “son’s life in their hands.”
“I will always stand by him,” she added.
As reported by The New York Post, “Officials and businesses in Kenosha are also fearing a repeat of the violent upheaval that rocked the city of about 100,000 people in August last year after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.”
“Photos show numerous buildings with boarded-up windows — many seemingly still there from the first round of riots last year that saw Black Lives Matter protesters often torching black-owned local businesses,” The Post continued.
In preparation for violence following the verdict, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has also ordered 500 National Guard troops into state active duty to support hundreds of law enforcement officers.
“We continue to be in close contact with our partners at the local level to ensure the state provides support and resources to help keep the Kenosha community and greater area safe,” said Gov. Evers. “The Kenosha community has been strong, resilient, and has come together through incredibly difficult times these past two years, and that healing is still ongoing. I urge folks who are otherwise not from the area to please respect the community by reconsidering any plans to travel there and encourage those who might choose to assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights to do so safely and peacefully.”
“We stand ready to support our communities during times of need,” said Maj. Gen. Paul Knapp, Wisconsin’s adjutant general. “In close coordination with the governor, we have assembled approximately 500 Soldiers to help keep the Kenosha community safe, should a request from our local partners come in.”
Rittenhouse is facing multiple charges in court, including first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and use of a dangerous weapon.
As The Daily Wire reported on Monday, Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed a gun charge against Rittenhouse, who has “pleaded not guilty to all charges, claiming he acted in self-defense.”
“Kyle Rittenhouse judge dismisses gun charge against teen,” reported the Chicago Tribune’s Stacy St. Clair, Monday morning.
“Legal experts had considered the misdemeanor gun charge — which carries about to 12 months in jail — to be the easiest charge for the the state to prove,” she added.
Legal experts had considered the misdemeanor gun charge – which carries about to 12 months in jail – to be the easiest charge for the the state to prove.
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) November 15, 2021
“Ahead of Monday’s closing arguments, Judge Bruce Schroeder ruled Wisconsin’s open carry law is so confusingly written it can be interpreted to mean 17-year-olds can openly carry firearms as long as they’re not short-barrel rifles,” detailed a report from the Chicago Tribune. “He believed the jury could only convict if prosecutors proved the barrel of Rittenhouse’s rifle was less than 16 inches and has an overall length shorter than 26 inches.”
“The AR-15-style rifle Rittenhouse used to fatally shoot two men and injure a third is 35 inches long with a barrel length of 16 inches. Under defense questioning, a Kenosha police detective said he believed the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 was standard size,” the report added.