Kenosha | Daily Badger Bulletin

After 2nd conviction, appeal likely

Lynn Sommers — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 21:48:07 +0000

KENOSHA, Wis. – Mark Jensen was convicted of killing his wife for a second time, but the case isn’t necessarily over.

Even before the first trial in 2008, the case and the evidence were heavily litigated.

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin ruled a letter from Julie Jensen pointing the finger at her husband shouldn’t have been allowed and granted Mark Jensen a new trial.

With a second conviction, a legal expert says we can expect an appeal, but not likely a reversal.

One of the longest-running cases in the state’s history is nearer to an end, but its mark on criminal justice hits across the country.

“I would be extremely surprised if this is anything but affirmed, but there will probably be an appeal, and it won’t be a non-frivolous appeal,” said Ion Meyn, University of Wisconsin Law School professor.

Meyn said because other courts already decided so many issues in the Jensen case, there are fewer issues for the defense to raise on appeal.

“Our trials are littered with error,” said Meyn.

While cases are often affirmed, decisions made by objective judges during an appeal while looking at the law provide important guidance for future trials, such as what evidence is allowed or not, like letters from beyond the grave, or how far you can go on cross -examination with jailhouse snitches.

“The trial court has to make tough decisions, and some of those decisions may be wrong,” said Meyn.

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While issues found on appeal may not reverse the jury’s decision in Mark Jensen’s case, Meyn said what’s found will have an impact on other cases in the justice system.

Even though Julie Jensen’s letter wasn’t allowed during the second trial, Meyn says if the case is appealed, prosecutors can raise the letter issue again.

“And that’s a nice leverage, from a pure point of view, to have because he won the case without it,” said Meyn.

The post After 2nd conviction, appeal likely first appeared on Daily Badger Bulletin.

Anthony Huber Conspiracy Lawsuit Against Kyle Rittenhouse

Lynn Sommers — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 17:46:18 +0000

Kyle Rittenhouse is seen reviewing evidence during his criminal trial on Nov. 12, 2021, in Kenosha, Wis.

A federal judge allowed the father of one of the men fatally shot by Kyle Rittenhouse to advance a civil lawsuit claiming that a conspiracy between police and then-teenager resulted in his son’s death.

The judge appeared skeptical that the father ultimately would be able to prove his conspiracy claims, calling the proposition “unlikely” but not “delusional.”

John Huberthe father of Anthony Huber, sued Rittenhouse for wrongful death months before his criminal trial. That lawsuit also leveled federal civil rights claims against the city and county of Kenosha, along with law enforcement officers who were involved in the police response to the protests over Jacob Blake‘s shooting. Huber’s claims against government actors included charges that the officers’ actions during the protests amounted to a conspiracy with Rittenhouse to harm protesters.

Rittenhouse was 17 at the time he killed Huber. He was tried and acquitted on all criminal charges in a 2021 trial after he argued that he had been acting in self-defense. During the trial, Rittenhouse’s defense team relied on the expertise of high-profile jury consultants and other experts.

His civil lawyer Shane Martin told Law&Crime that the ruling sending the civil case to discovery “does not change the facts.”

“As most of America fully understands, the only reason Kyle came into contact with Anthony Huber that night is that Huber struck Kyle on the head with a skateboard and knocked him to the ground while Kyle was fleeing a mob of other attackers and running toward Kenosha police to turn himself in,” Martin wrote in a statement. “Huber then tried to forcibly disarm Kyle as he lay in the street before striking Kyle in the head a second time. Those blows caused Kyle injuries he still suffers from today. There was simply no conspiracy between Kyle and the Kenosha police to single out Anthony Huber, and as one jury has already found, Kyle’s actions that night were not wrongful and were taken in self-defense.”

Huber contextualized the August 2020 events in Kenosha, Wisconsin, quite differently in his complaint:

Jacob Blake…was a Black man who had been shot in the back seven times by an officer in the Kenosha Police Department, and [Anthony] Huber was among many who peacefully protested the shooting and Kenosha’s pattern of racist and violent behavior by police officers and other officials.

He then discussed the police response to protests:

Astonishingly, the Kenosha Police Department, Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department, and their supervising officials and police officers, did not treat Rittenhouse or any of the other armed individuals patrolling the streets as a threat to the safety of themselves or the citizens they were sworn to protect .

The crux of Huber’s lawsuit noted the allegedly brilliant relationship between law enforcement and armed men on the streets of Kenosha:

Instead, Defendants deputized these armed individuals, conspired with them, and ratified their actions by letting them patrol the streets, armed with deadly weapons, to mete out justice as they saw fit. In addition, Defendants thanked Rittenhouse and other armed individuals, gave them water, and allowed them to openly defy the emergency curfew order that was in place. Defendants even made plans to funnel the protestors toward the armed individuals “deal with them.”

Huber alleged that these actions by government officials caused Rittenhouse to shoot an assault rifle “indiscriminately a number of times at citizens on the street,” killing two men.

Huber called his son Anthony “a hero,” who “attempted to disarm Rittenhouse, end the gunfire, stop the bloodshed, and protect his fellow citizens.”

The defendants each moved to dismiss, with the government entities arguing that Huber insufficiently alleged that Rittenhouse and any state actor reached the kind of agreement necessary for conspiracy charges.

A federal judge disagreed and ruled against the defense in a 48-page ruling Wednesday. As a result, Huber’s lawsuit will move forward in the litigation process.

US District Judge Lynn Adelmana bill clinton appointee, wrote Wednesday that while some of Huber’s allegations might be “hard to believe,” that they are neither “fantastic” nor “delusional” so as to warrant dismissal at this stage.

In Adelman’s ruling, the judge zeroed in on a key argument in the motions to dismiss: that Rittenhouse’s shootings were not a sufficiently direct result of any actions taken by the police. Adelman ruled that given law enforcement’s knowing creation of a dangerous situation, Huber’s killing was “a foreseeable result of the defendants’ decision to create an explosive situation by forcing protestors into a confined area with hostile armed individuals,” rather than a “remote” consequence .

“Huber’s death was not so attenuated from defendants’ conduct as to relieve them of liability. Huber was killed while the dangerous situation created by defendants was ongoing, not five months later,” reasoned Adelman.

Adelman also ruled that, “A conspiracy such as the one alleged in the complaint would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” as well as the First Amendment.

The judge was clear to point out, though, that surviving a motion to dismiss is not the same as satisfying a fact-finder at trial. Defendants argued that the existence of a conspiracy between cops and Rittenhouse was “absurd.”

Adelman disagreed, but qualified, “While I agree that such a conspiracy is unlikely, I cannot say that these allegations are so fantastic that I may ignore the complaint’s factual allegations and dismiss the conspiracy allegations as frivolous or entirely implausible.” The judge continued, explaining that Huber has already offered “more than most plaintiffs can allege,” given that conspiracies “are usually kept secret.”

The judge’s ruling means that Huber’s claims against Rittenhouse and the government defendants will now proceed toward trial. Huber seeks unspecified damages in the case.

To prevail on the civil rights claims, Huber will need to prove that Rittenhouse and the police had an agreement to deprive protesters of their rights. Although federal law does not require that such an agreement be formalized to be actionable, it does require that co-conspirators intentionally worked together toward a common goal. Whether communications between Rittenhouse and police rose to the level of a civil conspiracy is a question to be determined by the ultimate trier of fact — likely a jury.

Attorneys for the parties did not immediately respond to Law&Crime’s request for comment.

[Image via Mark Hertzberg/ZUMA Press Wire/Pool]

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Locally owned Blak Coffee Kenosha opens brick-and-mortar store

Lynn Sommers — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 13:44:59 +0000

Standing in his very own brick-and-mortar coffee shop, Blak Coffee Kenosha owner DeShaun Foster talked about everyone he had to thank for each step of his journey.

From his grandmother sneaking him a cup of coffee as a child to a local state representative finding him a location, Foster moved forward with a network of supporters to bring what local business owner Alvin Owens said is the only Black-owned coffee shop in Kenosha County .

Blak Coffee, 5615 Seventh Ave., will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 4, starting at 7 am and going until 3 pm

Local community leaders are expected to attend the ribbon cutting.

The event will also feature pastries from fellow local business From Scratch Bakery and Café.

Family and coffee

For Foster, coffee is tied closely to memories of his family. His menu reflects this, with each drink named and themed after a relative, including his grandmothers. Lela and Cora’s Special Blak Blend is described as “a bold black coffee with the aroma of being at Grandma’s house.”

Foster recalled his first time trying coffee as a boy.

Mornings at his paternal grandmother’s house always smelled like coffee, he said, and he remembered her secretly sneaking him a cup.

“She said ‘you’re not supposed to have this, but try it,'” Foster said.

It would be many years later, early on in the pandemic, when the idea of starting his own coffee business came about.

Foster was in the drive-thru of a Dunkin’ Donuts with his daughter, Jonessa, now in second grade, when she said he should start his own coffee shop.

Foster later brought the idea to Regimen Barber Collective owner Owens, a local community leader.

“I was expecting him to say no, but his eyes lit up,” Foster said. “Without him, this would still be an idea.”

Owens said he and other business owners have worked over the years to build a support network to help local Black-owned startups like Foster’s coffee shop.

owens

“Coming from the ‘urban community,’ you don’t know if there’s a network to support you,” Owens said. “What we’ve done these past years is build a network.”

Just over a year ago, in early January 2022, Foster launched his pop-up coffee shop in the back of Owen’s barbershop. He spent the next year attending events and finding connections, building what Owens describes as a “labor of love” for the community.

“I’m very proud of him. He started here in my barbershop,” Owens said. “I first met him for my college tours. Now he’s a grown man opening up a business. I’m just overwhelmingly proud of him.”

Ohnstad

Greg Anderson

It was during one of those pop-up shops that Foster met state Rep. Tod Ohnstad, who represents Kenosha. Foster said he talked about the difficulties of being a Black business owner.

“I asked him if he had considered a brick-and-mortar shop,” Ohnstad said. “He didn’t think it was possible because of rent and other costs. I said, ‘well, I’ll keep my thinking cap on.’”

Ohnstad said he took a drive through the Downtown area and spotted a vacant location next to Kenosha Creative Space, which formerly housed Blue House Books before that business moved to a larger space.

Ohnstad connected Foster with Creative Space Executive Director Francisco Loyola, who said Foster’s potential to grow and community-oriented nature convinced them to offer him the location.

“DeShaun was a good fit for the space,” Loyola said. “As a community, we need to connect more. I cannot think of a better way than over good food, music, art and coffee. We discover we’re more alike than different.”

Loyola

KENOSHA NEWS FILE PHOTO

Ohnstad also helped Foster get a state grant through the Main Street Program.

“One nice thing about this job is sometimes you get to do something good for somebody,” Ohnstad said. “I think it’ll be a great success, and I’m looking forward to that cup of coffee.”

Ready to open

After months of renovation work, Foster is excited to be standing in his own space, bringing a level of stability to his business that was impossible as a pop-up.

“This means everything to me. This is something I never would have even envisioned happening,” Foster said. “I’m excited to become a staple in the community.”

Foster has created a community-oriented space that showcases his inspiration, from its drink names to the wall of photos of people important to Foster, including Owens.

“I didn’t know he’d hung it up,” Owens said of his portrait. “I got emotional; tears in my eyes.”

Also on the wall are his grandmothers, both of whom died before the shop opened.

“I was hoping one of them would be here to experience it,” Foster said.

Culture and coffee

Foster said Blak Coffee will be a family-friendly space for all ages.

Wanting to convey culture along with his coffee, Foster plans to play older music that “maybe you didn’t like as a kid.”

An acquired taste, much like coffee.

His daughter Jonessa certainly agreed with that assessment of coffee after sneaking a drink, much like her father did decades ago.

She said she much prefers her signature drink, JoJo’s CoCo, a sweet and chocolatey drink made with almond milk. Time will tell if she acquires a taste for coffee, like her father did.

Foster expressed his excitement for the ribbon cutting on Saturday and invited the public to visit.

“It’s going to be eight hours of good coffee, good music and people just enjoying being here,” he said.

A celebration

Blak Coffee had a soft opening Wednesday, the first day of Black History Month.

Owens said the new business conveys an aspect of the month that is sometimes glossed over.

“The month should be a celebration of our culture — and not just be about slavery and darkness,” Owens said.

Foster, who grew up in Kenosha and opened a business celebrating his family and Black culture, is someone worth supporting, Owens added.

“DeShaun is a Kenosha kid,” Owens said. “Just like with the Tenuta family and the Paiellis, we want people to support this new Kenosha tradition.”

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The post Locally owned Blak Coffee Kenosha opens brick-and-mortar store first appeared on Daily Badger Bulletin.

Kyle Rittenhouse Lawsuit Raises Questions About Kenosha Police

Lynn Sommers — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 09:43:51 +0000

A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the father of one of the two men killed by Kyle Rittenhouse during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin on August 25, 2020 has been allowed to proceed against Rittenhouse, Kenosha police officers and others, a Wisconsin federal judge ruled on Wednesday .

The lawsuit, initially filed by Anthony Huber’s father John Huber in 2021, draws a link between Rittenhouse’s actions and those of law enforcement present at the scene of the protests. Rittenhouse, who was 17 years old at the time, fatally shot two men and injured another.

The lawsuit accuses Kenosha police officers of allowing a dangerous situation that violated his son’s constitutional rights and resulted in his death. It also alleges that Rittenhouse, who claimed he acted in self-defense and was found not guilty of murder in 2021, conspired with officers to harm protestors.

It’s the first time Kenosha law enforcement will face legal scrutiny for the shootings.

Kyle Rittenhouse listens as Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger attempts to introduce evidence that was previously blocked during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on November 10, 2021 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the father of one of the two men killed by Rittenhouse has been allowed to proceed.
Sean Krajacic-Pool/Getty Images

The actions—and inaction—of police during the night of the protests have already been criticized by many, including Leah Watson of the American Civil Liberties Union, a senior staff attorney who in November 2021 wrote that the actions of Kenosha police “played a critical part” in the deaths of the two men at the hands of Rittenhouse.

“On the night of August 25, law enforcement not only failed to protect protestors calling for police accountability and more humane treatment of Black people, but actively put them in harm’s way,” Watson wrote. “Officers enabled and encouraged predominantly white, right-wing armed civilians and militia groups that night, creating a situation in which tensions escalated and people were killed.”

“The Kenosha officials that created a powder keg situation by their actions tried to claim that they cannot be held accountable for their unconstitutional conduct; that argument was soundly rejected today,” Anand Swaminathan, an attorney for John Huber and Karen Bloom, said in a statements. Bloom is Anthony Huber’s mother.

Huber is seeking damages for £10 million from city officials, police officers and Rittenhouse, who has since turned into something of a celebrity and a recurring special guest on right-wing media. According to CNN, the lawsuit could prevent Rittenhouse from profiting from the shootings, including from any book deals to speaking engagements.

Efforts to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit by Rittenhouse and government defendants have been dismissed by US District Judge Lynn Adelman, who ruled for the lawsuit to proceed. He said that the death of 26-year-old Anthony Huber, who was at the protests with his girlfriend, “could plausibly be regarded as having been proximately caused by the actions of the governmental defendants.”

Rittenhouse’s attorney Shane Martin said in a phone interview with the Associated Press: “While we respect the judge’s decision, we do not believe there is any evidence of a conspiracy and we are confident, just as a Kenosha jury found Kyle’s actions that evening were not wrongful and were undertaken in self defense.”

Anthony Huber had both traveled to the scene of unrest in Kenosha, where people had gathered to protest the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white police officer. Rittenhouse testified that he went to the protests to protect private property and help as a medic.

During the protests, Rittenhouse—who was carrying an AR-15-style rifle—first shot 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum, who had approached him but was unarmed. After the first shooting, Rittenhouse ran towards the police line, but was chased by Huber, who took him to be an active shooter. Huber hit the teen with his skateboard, but was then shot dead by Rittenhouse.

Another man chasing Rittenhouse, Gaige Grosskreutz, was shot in the arm by the teen but survived his injuries.

Though Rittenhouse was found not guilty of five felony charges—the most serious of which was first-degree intentional homicide—in 2021 on the basis that he acted in self-defense, the civil case might reach a different verdict. The burden of proof is different in a civil case, where plaintiffs must prove their allegation by a preponderance of evidence instead of proving them beyond a reasonable doubt, as in criminal cases.

The post Kyle Rittenhouse Lawsuit Raises Questions About Kenosha Police first appeared on Daily Badger Bulletin.

A lawsuit can proceed against Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, a federal judge rules – Nation & World News

Lynn Sommers — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 05:42:28 +0000

By NPR News

February 1, 2023 National, News from NPR

A federal judge in Wisconsin has ruled that a civil rights lawsuit filed by the father of a man shot and killed by Rittenhouse can proceed to the next phase.

(Image credit: Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP)

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The post A lawsuit can proceed against Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, a federal judge rules – Nation & World News first appeared on Daily Badger Bulletin.

Lawsuit can proceed against Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse

Lynn Sommers — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 01:40:42 +0000

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled Wednesday that a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the father of a man shot and killed by Kyle Rittenhouse during a protest in 2020 can proceed against Rittenhouse, police officers and others.

The father of Anthony Huber, one of two men shot and killed by Rittenhouse, filed the lawsuit in 2021, accusing officers of allowing for a dangerous situation that violated his son’s constitutional rights and resulted in his death. Anthony Huber’s father, John Huber, also alleged that Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, conspired with law enforcement to cause harm to protestors. John Huber is seeking unspecified damages from city officials, officers and Rittenhouse.

US District Judge Lynn Adelman on Wednesday dismissed motions filed by Rittenhouse and the government defendants seeking to dismiss the civil rights lawsuit.

In allowing the case against Rittenhouse and the others to proceed, the judge said that Anthony Huber’s death “could plausibly be regarded as having been proximately caused by the actions of the governmental defendants.”

Rittenhouse attorney Shane Martin said in a phone interview that it’s important to note the ruling doesn’t address the merits of the case, it only allows it to proceed to the next phase.

“While we respect the judge’s decision, we do not believe there is any evidence of a conspiracy and we are confident, just as a Kenosha jury found, Kyle’s actions that evening were not wrongful and were undertaken in self defense,” Martin said.

Attorneys and private investigators for John Huber spent over 100 hours trying to locate Rittenhouse, tracking down addresses in seven states before they found the home of his mother and sister in Florida. The lawsuit was served on Rittenhouse’s sister, who said that he wasn’t home. Adelman said that was sufficient to qualify as being served.

Rittenhouse had argued that the case against him should be dismissed because he wasn’t properly served with the lawsuit. Adelman dismissed that, saying that Rittenhouse “is almost certainly evading service.”

Story continues

“Rittenhouse has been deliberately cagey about his whereabouts,” Adelman wrote. “Although he denies living in Florida, he does not identify the place that he deems to be his residence.”

Attorneys for the law enforcement and government officials being sued did not immediately return emailed messages seeking comment.

The ruling puts Anthony Huber’s family “one step closer to justice for their son’s needless death,” said Anand Swaminathan, one of the attorneys for parents John Huber and Karen Bloom.

Rittenhouse was charged with homicide, attempted homicide and reckless endangering for killing Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and wounding a third person with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle in the summer of 2020 during a tumultuous night of protests over the shooting of a Black man , Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer.

Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges in November 2021 after testing he acted in self-defense. Rittenhouse’s actions became a flashpoint in the debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice in the US

Rittenhouse went to Kenosha from his home in nearby Antioch, Illinois, after businesses were ransacked and burned in the nights that followed Blake’s shooting. He other joined armed civilians on the streets, carrying a weapon authorities said was illegally purchased for him because he was underage.

Rittenhouse first killed Rosenbaum, 36, in the parking lot of an auto dealership and as Rittenhouse ran from the scene he stumbled and fell. Anthony Huber, 26, struck Rittenhouse with his skateboard and tried to disarm him. Rittenhouse fell to the ground and shot Anthony Huber to death and wounded demonstrator Gaige Grosskreutz, 27.

This case is one of several ongoing civil lawsuits filed in the wake of the shootings. Grosskreutz last year filed a similar lawsuit against Rittenhouse.

Rittenhouse has maintained a high public profile, particularly on social media, where he is an outspoken advocate for gun rights. He has nearly 1 million followers on Twitter and has spoken at conservative gatherings.

The post Lawsuit can proceed against Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse first appeared on Daily Badger Bulletin.

How Kyle Rittenhouse went from killing protesters in Kenosha to becoming a right-wing influencer

Lynn Sommers — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 21:39:57 +0000

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“I don’t think my life is that interesting to be honest,” a young man told a small crowd last week at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Conroe, Texas. “I was waiting back there and I was playing Minecraft before we came over here. I’m 20 years old. I don’t know why the media is so focused on me.”

This is a bit of theatrical understatement. Some in the crowd had paid $500 for VIP passes just to get extra facetime with him ahead of the main event, the 2023 Rally Against Censorship from Defiance Press, a conservative publisher. The 20-year-old is named Kyle Rittenhouse.

The reason the media, the right-wing political world, and large parts of the US population at large have been so focused on him in recent years is both simple and complicated.

The simple version is in 2021, Mr Rittenhouse was acquitted on five charges for fatally shooting two people – Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber – and seriously wounding a third at a 2020 racial justice protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. No matter what else he is or isn’t, Mr Rittenhouse is someone who, as a teen, shot three people with an assault rifle at a Black Lives Matter demonstration and didn’t go to jail for it.

The more complicated version is, since before his murder trial was even finished, Mr Rittenhouse became a strange, uniquely American kind of famous: reviled by many, but beloved on the right, where Donald Trump defended him and Tucker Carlson lavished him with documentary- style coverage. Using crowdfunded donations and merch like t-shirts and sports bras, the Illinois teen raised more than a million of dollars in crowdfunded donations for his legal defense.

Since he’s been acquitted, the spotlight has only brightened. Under the banner of a purported campaign to clear his name, facing a sprawling civil lawsuit from the family of one of the people he shot, Mr Rittenhouse has become a full-blown right-wing influencer, garnering money and influencing through brand collaborations, a video game, a media watchdog organisation, a speaking slot at CPAC, meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, visiting Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and appearing as the draw at various conservative events around the country.

Only unlike most influencers, who trade on their pre-existing fame from sports or the entertainment world, Mr Rittenhouse, the self-described uninteresting kid from Antioch, Illinois, is trading on the long tail of what happened on August 25, 2020. As experts , observers, and allies of Mr Rittenhouse reveal the legacy of the shootings that night remain highly contested.

‘What happened in Kenosha cannot happen again’

To the parents of Anthony Huber, there’s no mistaking what Kenosha was all about to them: a teenager tried to take the law into his own hands and act as a vigilante. Their son heroically tried to intervene, and Mr Rittenhouse shot him for it, before being allowed by the police to flee the scene. The criminal system failed to prosecute the gunman, but maybe the courts could another way.

In January of 2022, they named him in a lawsuit alleging that a number of police agencies on the ground that night in Kenosha failed to stop pro-police militia men from roaming the streets, negligently and intentionally funneling protesters to an area where Mr Rittenhouse and others were heavily armed and waiting for an excuse to use their long guns.

“There has to be a right way to handle this. What happened in Kenosha cannot happen again,” Anand Swaminathan, an attorney for the Hubers, told The Independent. “As police, you don’t get to pick sides. You don’t get to say, ‘I’m going to side with the counter-protesters, the militia men, because they’re pro-police.’”

Mr Rittenhouse did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Independent.

More than scrutinizing the police, who were filmed praising militia men that night and had been warned of a large vigilante presence, the Hubers argue their suit is about personally holding Mr Rittenhouse accountable for what he did.

After the teen shot Joseph Rosenbaum, who had lunged at Mr Rittenhouse just as a shot went off near by, Anthony Huber rushed towards the gunman as a crowd yelled Mr Rittenhouse had just shot someone. The 26-year-old hit Mr Rittenhouse with a skateboard. The Illinois teen shot him in the chest, testing that Huber reached for his gun.

Kyle Rittenhouse, right, appears in ad for video game called Turkey Shoot

(screen grab)

The Hubers say that compounding the grief of losing a son, Mr Rittenhouse has gone on to profit off this killing. Courts will likely decide in the next few months whether the part of the suit concerning Mr Rittenhouse goes forward.

“He has absolutely been able to profit from the death of the Hubers’s son,” Mr Swaminathan added. “He’s become a media star and a star of the right-wing scene. He has all kinds of financial opportunities that all emanate from the fact that he killed Anthony Huber in Kenosha. That’s extremely painful for the family and it really is the opposite of accountability, and that’s why they brought him into this lawsuit.”

‘The kid’s gotten a raw deal’

To Mr Rittenhouse and his backers, the Illinois man has only ever wanted to clear his name, but can’t thanks to the multi-layered influence of the courts, the media, social media, and the left painting him as a racist mass murderer , an extreme magnification of the alienation they feel their views get from the political and cultural mainstream.

“We still hear him referred to in major media as a murderer. We’ve heard him still called a white supremacist, even though the people that were killed weren’t people of colour,” David Roberts, founder of Defiance Press, which put on the Texas rally, told The Independent. “The kid’s gotten a raw deal. He’s 20 years old. He can’t enroll in college. He’s probably never going to have a normal life. He’s kind of the extreme example of what we’ve experienced, just in a much more public, wide forum.”

It’s a misconception so great, Mr Rittenhouse claims, it threatens his life and requires him to travel with security.

“There are people that want to kill me because of what the media has said,” he told the crowd in Texas.

And indeed, Mr Rittenhouse did experience some things which few have ever experienced, though these exceptional moments all flowed downstream from his equally exceptional choice to grab an assault rifle, take it to a powder keg of a protest, then shoot three people.

After the shootings in Kenosha, Facebook and Instagram took down posts praising him and blocked him from searches, officially designating him a “mass shooter.” (Facebook also ignored 455 user warnings and allowed a militia group to organize its Kenosha event using the service, despite commentators openly describing plans to shoot protesters.) Joe Biden, then a candidate for president, suggested the Illinois man was a white supremacist, which he insists he is not. His criminal case was on the verge of being declared a mistrial, amid arguments officials kept exculpatory video from his defence. (Officials say they shared a version of the video, just a lower-quality one, due to a technical issue.)

In the end, however, none of Mr Rittenhouse’s legacy is all that complicated, according to journalist and researcher Talia Lavin, who writes about right-wing extremism on Substack and is the author of the undercover investigation Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy.

“His audience sincerely sees him as a hero in a race war. What they’re doing is winking,” she told The Independent, adding, “That’s why he’s in demand. That’s why he has followers. It is because he killed people and got away with it. It’s pretty strong and to me also very indicative of a kind of deeply punitive, sort of vengeful and ultimately violent culture that is emblematic of the American right.”

What’s more, according to Ms Lavin, there’s a unique infrastructure of conservative conferences, media outlets, think tanks, and even consumer brands that allow seemingly obscure right-wing figures to achieve a kind of demi-fame – not quite the stuff of Hollywood, but enough to make some money and have a sizeable following online.

“There’s just a whole universe of conservative influencers and just outright grifters selling supplements and scam health machines and various anti-vax miracle cures. There is a line between the modern religiously flavored GOP conferences and the old-timey medicine show,” she said. “There’s just a lot of grift, and figures like Rittenhouse who have achieved national fame are big draws.”

Mr Rittenhouse isn’t the only one to ascend to this status. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, a wealthy St Louis couple who went viral for waving guns at Black Lives Matter protesters marching past their mansion in 2020, went on to get a pardon from the governor, speak at the Republican National Convention, and run for US Senate .

These two tracks, the conservative feeling of grievance, cancellation, and conspiracy, as well as the right-wing influencer infrastructure, can coincide perfectly, as revealed at the Texas event where Mr Rittenhouse appeared.

When a brewery pulled out of hosting the event, Defiance Press racked up thousands of views framing it as a Watergate-style scandal, complete with a whistleblower tape. When your business is controversial, cancellation is both an enemy and an opportunity.

Once the event actually started at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, these two tracks often seemed to coexist in Mr Rittenhouse’s mind at the same time. He spent much of his appearance complaining that the media was both giving him too much and not enough attention, that he wanted a normal life but also more reach for his business and media endeavors.

“The lawsuit isn’t getting reported on very much. People aren’t reporting on it. I think it’s another tactic because they know I have a lot of supporters,” he told the crowd, adding, “They’re not pushing any of my fundraising. The media…they’re not talking about it. They just want to be silent about it.”

Speaking of Instagram, he complained, “I get no traction. I can’t really promote anything,” adding, “I do think I’m still being censored.”

Speaking of Twitter, he complained, “I didn’t know it would be to the point where if I post something on my Twitter, the entire left is going to blow up and try to cancel a speaking engagement event for me and Defiance Press. ”

Later, recounting how he met a makeup artist at a photoshoot with his girlfriend who initially held negative views about him, but changed her mind after the two spoke, Mr Rittenhouse claimed, “The media used me.”

Though it’s clear, in any fair accounting of Mr. Rittenhouse’s public trajectory since Kenosha, he used the media right back.

The post How Kyle Rittenhouse went from killing protesters in Kenosha to becoming a right-wing influencer first appeared on Daily Badger Bulletin.

Birch, Jacoby, Muilenburg highlight Grafon Duals

Lynn Sommers — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 17:38:05 +0000

By MITCH MAERSCH

Ozaukee Press staff

Grafton High School’s wrestling team finished fifth of six teams at its home duals tournament on Saturday, but the Black Hawks weren’t without some highlights.

Senior Ben Birch went 5-0 at 182 pounds.

“He didn’t just win his matches. He dominated his opponents, controlled them from start to finish,” coach Brant Murray-McKelvey said.

“He hit another level this week. He’s where he needs to be.”

Birch pinned Aiden Johnson of Kenosha Tremper in 3 minutes, Tyler Lockett of Mukwonago Varsity Reserve in 3:43, Lucas Rathje of Shoreland Lutheran in 3:40 and Carter Janus of Racine Case in 38 seconds. He won one match via forfeit.

Max Jacoby at 160 pounds went 3-2. He was pinned by Hector Rosalez of Sheboygan Falls in 1:09 and Misha Grayson of Racine Case in 3:11 before he pinned Logan Hansen of Kenosha Tremper in 1:40, Joe Manata of Mukwonago Varsity Reserve in 38 seconds and Nathan Rathje of Shoreland Lutheran in 51 seconds.

“He looked really good this weekend. He has a lot of talent, but the confidence level was missing throughout the season,” Murray-McKelvey said. “This weekend it seemed to come out. He really took off.”

Miles Muilenburg at 285 pounds went 3-2. He pinned Nicholas Mauldin of Kenosha Tremper in 3:20 and Thomas Markham of Shoreland Lutheran in 1:24, and was pinned by Declan Nason of Racine Case in 1:04 and Hunter Szyszkiewicz of Mukwonago Varsity Reserve in 2:12. He won one forfeit.

“Miles Muilenburg really shined this weekend. He had some matches that on paper he was the heavy underdog, and he went out there and he won,” Murray-McKelvey said.

After starting 2-9, Muilenburg has gone .500 since.

“He didn’t let a bad start get him down,” Murray-McKelvey said.

The Hawks beat Shoreland Lutheran, 42-40; and Racine Case, 45-36. They lost to Kenosha Tremper, 57-24; Mukwonago Varsity Reserve, 60-21; and Sheboygan Falls, 43-34.

Kenosha Tremper won, followed by Mukwonago Varsity Reserve, Shoreland Lutheran, Sheboygan Falls, Grafton and Racine Case.

On Jan. 25, the Hawks nearly won their first North Shore Conference dual of the season at Cedarburg, falling to the Bulldogs, 40-36.

Grafton’s Audrey Hanson at 106 pounds, Birch at 182 and Nathan Krause at 220 pinned their opponents.

“Our best wrestling didn’t show up as a whole. I think the pressure of hey, we have an opportunity to get our first win out here, got to the guys,” Murray-McKelvey said.

On the same night, the Hawks lost, 75-6, to West Bend East. Hanson won a forfeit.

Injuries continue to plague Port

Port Washington’s smaller lineup due to injuries has hurt the team in dual meets and tournaments.

The Pirates scored 73.5 points and finished 10th in the 16-team Pulaski Invite on Saturday. Kaukauna won with 275.5.

The Pirates had two positives. Freshman Garett Kawczynski (31-2) won the 220-pound weight class.

He pinned Jonah Goetsch (26-14) of Denmark in 1:47, pinned Lucas Leisgang (23-8) of Seymour in 3:18, and in the finals beat Jordan Loose (22-11) of Kaukauna in a 16-3 major decision.

“He’s been doing great,” coach Angelo LaRosa said.

The other bit of good news is that defending NSC champ Brandon Grabowski returned from injury last week. He was second at the invite.

Grabowski (18-2) at 160 pounds pinned Ayden Needham (21-13) of Hortonville in 1:27 and Tristan Taylor (17-4) of Pulaski in 5:26 before losing a 15-0 technical fall to Liam Crook (30 -4) of Kaukauna.

“He’s working his way back,” LaRosa said.

In two duals at West Bend on Jan. 25, Port lost, 42-36, to Nicolet and to West Bend West.

Against Nicolet, Kaiden Schumacher, Nate Streiff, Grabowski, Diego Armendariz and Ramon Agrinsoni earned pins.

Against West, Schumacher, Nick Gonzalez, Angelo Scarpaci, Grabowski and Sam Pasten pinned their opponents.

On Jan. 26 at Plymouth, Port beat Oostburg, 47-31, and Plymouth, 64-18.

Against Oostburg, Agrinsoni, Schumacher, Armendariz and Nick Bensen earned pins. Against Plymouth, Bensen, Caleb Runkel, Schumacher and Scarpaci pinned their foes

Port and Grafton wrestle in the NSC Tournament at Nicolet on Friday, Feb. 3.

The post Birch, Jacoby, Muilenburg highlight Grafon Duals first appeared on Daily Badger Bulletin.

Verdict watch as jury deliberates

Lynn Sommers — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 13:36:20 +0000

KENOSHA, Wis. – A Kenosha County jury resumes deliberations Wednesday morning, Feb. 1 in the retrial of a man previously convicted of killing his wife in 1998.

Mark Jensen, now 63, was convicted in 2008 of poisoning his wife, Julie, with antifreeze, drugging her, and smothering her. But a new trial was ordered after a key piece of evidence was thrown out.

Jensen’s defense says Julie Jensen killed herself.

Attorneys gave closing arguments Tuesday, before the case was handed over to the jury.

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Jurors deliberated for a couple of hours Tuesday afternoon. Before being dismissed Tuesday evening, they asked to look at evidence in the case. Jurors were brought back into the courtroom to view autopsy and scene photos at the Jensen’s Pleasant Prairie home. Jurors also asked for copies of two reports. One was the fire department report filed after responding to the Jensen home. Jurors also wanted to see written notes by Julie Jensen’s physician.

Jurors also asked for writing materials, before being sent back to deliberate.

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This is a developing story.

The post Verdict watch as jury deliberates first appeared on Daily Badger Bulletin.

Kenosha police deploy Taser after man flees traffic stop; officer suffers minor injuries

Lynn Sommers — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 09:35:14 +0000

A 26-year-old man was arrested after he attempted to flee police who deployed a taser to subdue him following a traffic stop in the 2100 block of 50th Street on Tuesday.

The Kenosha man was a passenger in the vehicle that officers had stopped at 4:44 pm for an equipment violation, according to Lt. Josh Hecker of the Kenosha Police Department.

“Essentially officers conducted a traffic stop and the passenger fled on foot. They took chase and they were able to take the guy into custody. But in the meantime, the guy fleeing resisted arrest,” said Hecker. “We had to use force against the passenger.”

Police used the electronic control device as the man resisted. An officer suffered minor injuries in the incident but he was able to return to duty, Hecker said.

Drone footage from the Wisconsin State Patrol shows a suspect from a vehicle crash that was reported at 9:39 am at Interstate 94 and Highway C on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023.

Wisconsin State Patrol

Hecker said the pursuit lasted a few minutes as officers struggled with the man before taking him into custody.

Felony charges of fleeing and eluding and resisting arrest causing injury to an officer, along with a probation violation, were recommended, Hecker said.

Mugshots: Kenosha County criminal complaints from Jan. 28-30

Amanda Jean Bloom

Amanda Jean Bloom36, of Racine, faces charges of retail theft (intentionally take between $500-$5,000), possession of drug paraphernalia, and bail jumping.

Derek Michael Goheen

Derek Michael Goheen37, of Kenosha, faces charges of strangulation and suffocation, battery, and disorderly conduct.

Juan Walter Goins

Juan Walter Goins23, of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, faces charges of taking and driving vehicle without owner’s consent, and resisting or obstructing an officer.

Scott Alan Kania

Scott Alan Kania33, of Kenosha, faces charges of third degree sexual assault, and battery.

Amanda Elizabeth Onslow

Amanda Elizabeth Onslow28, Kenosha, faces charges of bail jumping, disorderly conduct, and substantial battery (intend bodily harm).

Nadeem Rasul

Nadeem Rasul43, of Kenosha, faces charges of bail jumping.

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The post Kenosha police deploy Taser after man flees traffic stop; officer suffers minor injuries first appeared on Daily Badger Bulletin.