Kyle Rittenhouse, then a 17-year-old from Antioch, Illinois, shot three men with an AR-15-style rifle during civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on the night of August 25, 2020, killing Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz. He was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and four other felonies, argued he acted in self-defense, and was acquitted on all counts by a Kenosha County jury on November 19, 2021.1CNN. Rittenhouse Jury Verdicts
What Happened in Kenosha That Night
Two days before the shootings, a white Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, in the back, leaving him paralyzed. The shooting set off days of protests and property destruction in the city.2ACLU. Timeline: How Law Enforcement Fueled Violence in Kenosha Buildings were burned, businesses were destroyed, and more than 40 law enforcement agencies were deployed to a city of roughly 98,000 residents.3Wisconsin Public Radio. Four Years After Kenosha Unrest, Community Rebuilding A curfew was in effect on the night of August 25.
Rittenhouse was on the street after curfew, carrying a rifle and a medical kit. He told a camera crew he was there as a medic, though he later admitted at trial that his claim of being an EMT was a lie.4CNN. Kyle Rittenhouse Trial
Joseph Rosenbaum
The first person Rittenhouse shot was Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, who had been discharged from a Milwaukee hospital earlier that day after a suicide attempt. Rosenbaum was unarmed, carrying a plastic bag of belongings. Another protester, Joshua Ziminski, fired a shot into the air 2.5 seconds before Rittenhouse began firing, according to a Kenosha detective’s later testimony.5The Hill. Detective: Shot Fired Before Rittenhouse Began Shooting Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across a used car lot, threw the bag at him, and lunged toward his rifle. Rittenhouse fired four shots. A forensic pathologist testified that Rosenbaum was falling forward when hit, and that the fatal round struck his back.6Wisconsin Public Radio. Medical Examiner Gives Graphic Testimony on Injuries
Anthony Huber
Rittenhouse ran toward police lines. A group chased him, believing he was an active shooter. Anthony Huber, a 26-year-old Kenosha resident and friend of Jacob Blake, caught up and struck Rittenhouse with a skateboard while trying to disarm him.7NPR. What We Know About the Three Men Kyle Rittenhouse Shot Rittenhouse fired one shot into Huber’s chest, killing him.
Gaige Grosskreutz
Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, a former paramedic carrying medical supplies and a pistol, was also part of the group. He testified he believed Rittenhouse was an active shooter and approached intending to intervene. On cross-examination, Grosskreutz agreed that his pistol was pointed at Rittenhouse at the moment he was shot.7NPR. What We Know About the Three Men Kyle Rittenhouse Shot The round struck his right arm and destroyed roughly 90 percent of his bicep. He survived.
After the shootings, Rittenhouse walked toward a police line with his hands raised. Officers did not arrest him at the scene.8NBC Chicago. The Kyle Rittenhouse Story Explained He was driven back to Antioch, and his mother took him to a local police station around 1:30 a.m. to turn himself in.9FactCheck.org. Rittenhouse Testified He Drove Himself to Kenosha Without Weapon
Why He Was There, and Where the Rifle Came From
Rittenhouse had driven to Kenosha the day before for work as a lifeguard and stayed overnight at the home of his friend Dominick Black’s stepfather. On the morning of August 25 he cleaned graffiti off a local high school. That evening he retrieved a Smith & Wesson AR-style semiautomatic rifle from the basement of the home where he was staying.9FactCheck.org. Rittenhouse Testified He Drove Himself to Kenosha Without Weapon Black had bought the rifle for him months earlier at a hardware store in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, using money Rittenhouse provided, because Rittenhouse was too young to buy it himself. The gun never crossed state lines. Rittenhouse and Black said they planned to guard a used car dealership that had been damaged during the unrest.
The Charges
Kenosha County prosecutors filed six counts:
- First-degree reckless homicide with a dangerous weapon modifier, for killing Rosenbaum. Up to 65 years.
- First-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon modifier, for killing Huber. Mandatory life sentence.
- Attempted first-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon modifier, for shooting Grosskreutz. Up to 65 years.
- Two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with dangerous weapon modifiers, covering shots that endangered reporter Richard McGinnis and an unidentified man who had kicked Rittenhouse.
- Possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, a misdemeanor punishable by up to nine months.
- Failure to comply with an emergency curfew order, a civil forfeiture.10PBS NewsHour. What Charges Does Kyle Rittenhouse Face
Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed the curfew violation before trial for lack of evidence. Just before closing arguments, he also dismissed the underage weapons count, ruling that the Wisconsin statute banning minors from possessing dangerous weapons applied only to short-barreled rifles and shotguns. Rittenhouse’s rifle had a barrel longer than 16 inches and so fell outside the statute.11PBS NewsHour. Why Did the Judge Drop Kyle Rittenhouse Gun Charge Prosecutors argued the ruling rendered the state’s broader prohibition on minors possessing weapons “meaningless.”12The Trace. Judge Dismisses Gun Charge Against Rittenhouse Bail was set at $2 million and was raised through the #FightBack Foundation and outside donations. Rittenhouse was released in November 2020.
How He Was Acquitted
The trial took place in November 2021 before Judge Schroeder at the Kenosha County Courthouse. Rittenhouse testified in his own defense, telling the jury, “I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself.”4CNN. Kyle Rittenhouse Trial He said he shot Rosenbaum because he feared Rosenbaum would take his gun and kill him, fired at Huber after being struck with the skateboard, and shot Grosskreutz because he believed Grosskreutz was lunging at him with a pistol.
Under Wisconsin law, a person may use deadly force if they reasonably believe they face imminent death or great bodily harm. Once Rittenhouse raised self-defense, prosecutors had to disprove that claim beyond a reasonable doubt.13NPR. Why Legal Experts Were Not Surprised by the Rittenhouse Jury’s Decision to Acquit They tried to do so with a provocation theory, arguing that Rittenhouse forfeited his right to self-defense by pointing his rifle at others before the confrontation with Rosenbaum, and that Huber and Grosskreutz reasonably believed they were confronting an active shooter. Much of the state’s evidence came from dark or blurry video.
Schroeder’s rulings shaped the trial in ways that drew heavy criticism. He barred prosecutors from calling the three men “victims,” calling the word “loaded,” while permitting the defense to call them “rioters,” “looters,” or “arsonists” if evidence supported it.14CNN. Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Judge Bruce Schroeder Prosecutor Thomas Binger called the arrangement a “double standard.”15NBC News. Rittenhouse Judge in Spotlight After Disallowing Word ‘Victims’ in Courtroom Retired federal judge Nancy Gertner, a Harvard Law School lecturer, later said Schroeder “put his finger on the scale.”16Harvard Law School. Acquitted: Assessing the Rittenhouse Trial
After roughly 26 hours of deliberation over four days, the jury acquitted Rittenhouse on all five remaining counts on November 19, 2021.1CNN. Rittenhouse Jury Verdicts Stanford law professor Robert Weisberg noted that the jury instructions allowed a “pretty generous” interpretation toward the defendant on who was the initial aggressor.17Stanford Law School. Stanford Criminal Law Experts on the Kyle Rittenhouse Acquittal Legal experts were largely unsurprised. The actions of those who chased Rittenhouse, struck him, or pointed a weapon at him gave the jury a reasonable basis to find that he feared for his life.
The Civil Cases Are Not Over
Acquittal ended the criminal case, not the civil ones. In 2021, Anthony Huber’s father sued Rittenhouse, the city of Kenosha, county officials, and police officers in federal court, alleging wrongful death and civil rights violations. The complaint claims officers created a dangerous environment by coordinating with armed militia members, offering them water and encouragement, and letting them patrol after curfew while enforcing the curfew against protesters.18GPB News. Lawsuit Can Proceed Against Kenosha Shooter Kyle Rittenhouse Grosskreutz filed a similar federal suit in October 2021.19Courthouse News Service. Protester Accuses Kenosha Cops of Conspiring With Armed Militia Members
In February 2023, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman denied motions to dismiss the Huber lawsuit and let the case move forward, finding that Rittenhouse was “almost certainly evading service” and ruling that service on his sister was sufficient.20PBS NewsHour. Attorneys Say Kyle Rittenhouse Is Evading Them
What He Has Done Since
Rittenhouse became a public figure on the pro-gun right. In 2023 he launched a Texas-based nonprofit, the Rittenhouse Foundation, focused on gun rights education and legal assistance.21San Antonio Express-News. Texas Gun Rights Kyle Rittenhouse By mid-2024 he was working as outreach director for Texas Gun Rights, appeared at the Texas GOP Convention signing copies of his book Acquitted, and spoke with Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz at a gun rights rally in Milton, Florida.22WSBT. Matt Gaetz and Kyle Rittenhouse Advocate for Gun Rights at Florida Rally As of early 2025 he was employed full-time at a gun shop in Milton and had designed a rifle marketed as the “KR-15.”23WTMJ. Kyle Rittenhouse Is Now a Full-Time Gun Shop Employee in Florida
He has also said he plans to sue media outlets and public figures for defamation over their coverage of the case, retaining attorney Todd McMurtry and naming as many as 10 to 15 potential targets, including Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg.24Fox 59. Kyle Rittenhouse’s Lawyer Looks to Target Facebook in Defamation Lawsuit As of the most recent available reporting, none of those suits had been filed.