KENOSHA, Wis. (Reuters) – A jury in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, decided on Friday to acquit him on all charges in the deaths of two men and the wounding of a third with a military-style rifle during protests last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Before the killings, Kenosha had endured two nights of chaotic protests over the police shooting of a local Black man, Jacob Blake. Several businesses were burned to the ground and there were incidents of looting. Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to control the crowds.
The following is based on court testimony, drone footage and videos from Aug. 25, 2020:
* During the day, Rittenhouse helps clean graffiti off a school. That same day Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, is released from a Milwaukee hospital where he had been admitted after a suicide attempt.
* Around 10 p.m. video shows Rittenhouse with a rifle standing with other armed men near a used-car dealership. Rittenhouse testified he was asked to help guard the business due to the threat of looting and arson. He brought a medical kit and says his objective was to provide aid to anyone injured.
* Around 10:45 p.m., another video shows Rittenhouse asking police officers for water. One officer says: “We appreciate you guys. We really do.”
* Around 11:45 p.m. Rosenbaum chases Rittenhouse into a used-car lot as Rittenhouse yells “Friendly, friendly, friendly.” Rosenbaum throws a plastic bag containing toiletries at Rittenhouse.
* Rittenhouse testified that Rosenbaum grabbed his gun. A journalist for the Daily Caller, a conservative website, testified that Rosenbaum lunged for the rifle. Rittenhouse fires his gun at Rosenbaum, hitting him four times and killing him.
* Video shows Rittenhouse fleeing the scene of the Rosenbaum shooting and being chased by a growing crowd, some yelling “Get him!”
* Just minutes later, after stumbling to the ground, Rittenhouse fatally shoots Anthony Huber, a 26-year-old who swung a skateboard at him.
* After Huber was shot, Gaige Grosskreutz, now 27, stops moving toward Rittenhouse and put his hands in the air. He was holding a handgun. When Grosskreutz resumes advancing, Rittenhouse shoots him, severing most of his bicep. Rittenhouse testified that Grosskreutz had his pistol pointed at his head.
* Rittenhouse then walks toward the police with his hands up and the rifle slung across his body. Police order him to get out of the way and one officer pepper sprays Rittenhouse when he approaches the window of the patrol car. The police then drive off, believing the active shooter was elsewhere.
* Around 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 26, Rittenhouse, accompanied by his mother, turns himself into a police station in his hometown of Antioch, Illinois.
(Reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Grant McCool)
