Where is Kyle Rittenhouse now? Hearing for alleged Kenosha shooter may settle use-of-force experts question ahead of trial

By Lynn Sommers On Oct 25, 2021

MADISON, Wisconsin – A judge at a hearing on Monday may determine whether experts on violence can testify in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse for shooting three people in a protest against police brutality in Wisconsin last year.

The hearing is likely the last before Rittenhouse is tried on November 1 over the shootings that took place during chaotic demonstrations in Kenosha on August 25, 2020, two days after police in that town shot and killed a black man, Jacob Blake when she trespassed on a trespass.

Rittenhouse, 18, of Antioch was among several people who responded to calls on social media to take up arms and come to Kenosha to respond to the protests. Rittenhouse is charged with manslaughter and other crimes in the fatal shootings of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and the wounding of Gaige Großkreutz.

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Rittenhouse attorneys are seeking a testimony from violence expert John Black to back up their case that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. Prosecutors have asked Judge Bruce Schroeder to disqualify Black on the grounds that his expertise lies in the police, not the civilian use of force, and is not relevant to Rittenhouse’s actions.

Black previewed his testimony at a hearing in early October. Monday’s hearing will include testimony from Robert Willis, an expert on the use of violence whom Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said he will use when Black is allowed to testify.

Other requests remain for Schröder to decide before the trial. One of the prosecutors asks Schroeder to forbid defense lawyers to label the three men shot by Rittenhouse as rioters, looters or arsonists. Binger argues that there is no evidence that any of the three were involved in such activities on the night they were shot.

The public prosecutor also wants Schröder to block any evidence of Rosenbaum and Huber’s criminal record.

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They are also trying to stop the defense from bringing evidence that the police offered water to Rittenhouse and other armed citizens, or that they told them, “We appreciate you guys, we really do.”

Rittenhouse attorney Mark Richards argued that such a statement is relevant to whether Rittenhouse acted recklessly by being on the streets of Kenosha with a gun that night.

“If the behavior was so obviously dangerous, it makes sense that law enforcement would have either arrested the defendant or told them to leave the area because of his actions,” wrote Richards in a motion. “They didn’t do that either.”

Many Conservatives have come to support Rittenhouse, calling him a patriot and making him a symbol of gun rights, and raising $ 2 million for his bail. Others, including some liberals and activists, portray him as a local terrorist and say he has made an explosive situation worse.