Rittenhouse Trial Pushed to November

The trial for Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old charged with killing two people and injuring another during a police brutality protest last summer in Kenosha, has been postponed to November.

The date was pushed back to Nov. 1 during his pretrial hearing Wednesday. Rittenhouse is facing five felonies, including first-degree reckless homicide, and was to stand trial beginning March 29.

Attorneys from both sides had been indicating they weren’t ready to begin this month.

Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said Wednesday there are a number of things that still needed to be taken care of before the trial can begin.

“Some DNA testing and some logistics to the eventual jury that need to be hammered out,” Binger said.

Binger indicated the Nov. 1 date would not give him enough time. But Rittenhouse’s attorney, Mark Richards, said they wanted the case handed this fall.

Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder asked Rittenhouse if he had a problem delaying the trial to November. Rittenhouse took off his mask and said, “No, your honor.” It was the only time Rittenhouse spoke during the hearing Wednesday.

Rittenhouse’s case has become a national flash point. He has been out on bail since November when his $2 million bond was paid by conservative fundraisers. Some have condemned him for killing two men and injuring a third following the police shooting of Jacob Blake last summer. Others, including former President Donald Trump, have rallied behind him.

Prosecutors allege Rittenhouse killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz during a protest on Aug. 25. He pleaded not guilty to all charges in January.

Since Rittenhouse has been out on bond, he has been spotted in a Wisconsin bar with members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group of self-described “Western chauvinists.”

Kimberley Motley represents Grosskreutz who was allegedly shot in the arm by Rittenhouse.

“His behavior has not been appropriate,” Motley said of Rittenhouse. “And it will be interesting to see how this trial will move forward.”

Rittenhouse also failed to update his address, a condition of his bail. The Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office pushed to have his bond increased, but a Kenosha County Circuit Court judge denied the request last month. The Kenosha County district attorney wouldn’t comment on the case.

Robert Barnes, a California-based attorney who is on Rittenhouse’s legal team, described his client as a blue-collar high school senior who wants to become a nurse, like his mother.

“For a teenager to be under this kind of pressure is quite extraordinary, for someone who has never experienced the criminal justice process before and be the public target for so much hate,” Barnes said.

Barnes said Rittenhouse and his family are in a safe house, the location of which is known only to the court.

Motley said parts of the trial will be challenging for Grosskreutz and the families of the men who were killed, but she said everyone is ready to move forward.

“He should be accountable and held accountable for his action,” Motley said. “And we hope that at trial, the jurors that are picked will look at all the evidence that is presented to them, and that they will find him guilty.”

Listen to the WPR report here.

Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Pushed To November was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.