Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyer says teen was being hunted as prey by protesters
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The lawyer for Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse claims protesters were ‘relentlessly hunting him as prey’ and says the 17-year-old was acting in self-defense when he fired his gun at protesters, killing two and injuring another.
Rittenhouse has been charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree homicide and one count of attempted homicide following the shootings on the third night of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber were killed and Gaige Grosskreutz was shot in the arm in a series of encounters that were captured on cellphone videos.
Rittenhouse’s lawyer John Pierce has praised the teenager for his actions and argued that he was only defending himself against a mob trying to disarm and hurt him.
‘This is 100 percent self defense,’ Pierce told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight.
‘The only individuals Kyle shot were the three individuals attacking him and putting him at risk. This is a 17-year-old kid, this is amazing what he did.’
Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, (above) has been charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree homicide and one count of attempted homicide following the shootings on the third night of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake
It echoes comments made by President Donald Trump on Monday night who sided with the teenager, saying he was trying to get away and would have been killed by the protesters if he had not opened fire.
Rittenhouse, who lives in a nearby Illinois town, had traveled to Kenosha to help protect businesses from being torched or looted amid the Jacob Blake protests, according to his lawyer.
In addition to his AR-15-style rifle, Rittenhouse’s lawyer said the teenager also had had a first aid kit with him to help treat injured protesters.
Pierce said the incident escalated when a shot was fired as Rittenhouse tried to retreat from a group of protesters who, he claims, became enraged that the teen was trying to put out fires.
‘They began screaming that Kyle needed to be killed and they were going to kill him. They started relentlessly hunting him as prey as he ran down the street attempting to retreat,’ Pierce said.
‘Mr Rosenbaum, who was leading the attack on him, set upon him immediately… began to assault him from behind, attempted to take his weapon, take his firearm, and Kyle, when he turned, he instantaneously had no choice but to defend himself by firing because he was in imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death.’
Rittenhouse’s lawyer John Pierce praised the teenager for his actions in an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and argued that he was only defending himself against a mob trying to disarm and hurt him
Pierce denied that Rittenhouse brought the AR-15 across state lines from Illinois to Wisconsin.
‘That firearm never crossed state lines. It is a legal firearm in Wisconsin,’ Pierce said, adding they would be arguing it is within his second amendment rights.
Witness accounts and cellphone video show that the shootings took place in two stages: Rittenhouse first shot Rosenbaum, then jogged away, stumbled and fell in the street, and opened fire again on Huber and Grosskreutz as members of the crowd closed in him.
After the gunfire, with his AR-15-style rifle over his shoulder and his hands in the air, Rittenhouse walked toward police vehicles that kept going past him, even as a witness shouted, ‘He just shot them!’
Police Chief Daniel Miskinis has explained the response as officers dealing with a chaotic scene.
Rittenhouse, a sometime lifeguard, later turned himself in, his lawyers said, and is now jailed on homicide charges.
While prosecutors call his conduct criminal, his lawyers say he defended himself against a mob trying to disarm and hurt him. They and other supporters portray him as a hero who stood up to lawlessness.
The lawyer said the incident escalated when a shot was fired as Rittenhouse tried to retreat from a group of protesters who, he claims, became enraged that the teen was trying to put out fires. He said the protesters started hunting Rittenhouse (above on the ground) like prey
Rittenhouse is charged with two counts of first-degree homicide and one count of attempted homicide following the shootings
After the gunfire, with his AR-15-style rifle over his shoulder and his hands in the air, Rittenhouse walked toward police vehicles that kept going past him, even as a witness shouted, ‘He just shot them!’
Trump on Monday sided with the 17-year old on the eve of his visit to Kenosha.
‘He was trying to get away from them,’ Trump said of Rittenhouse.
‘And then he fell and then they very violently attacked him. I guess he was in very big trouble… He probably would have been killed.’
Trump, who has made law and order a main theme of his re-election campaign, declined to condemn violent acts by his supporters and railed against what he called rioting and anarchy carried out by ‘left-wing’ protesters.
Former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s opponent, accused the president of stoking violence with his rhetoric, while insisting that rioters and looters be prosecuted.
‘Tonight, the president declined to rebuke violence. He wouldn’t even repudiate one of his supporters who is charged with murder because of his attacks on others. He is too weak, too scared of the hatred he has stirred to put an end to it,’ Biden said in a statement.
Trump suggested violence would increase if Biden won and accused the former vice president of surrendering to a left-wing mob.
‘In America, we will never surrender to mob rule, because if the mob rules, democracy is indeed dead,’ Trump said.
Joseph Rosenbaum (left) and Anthony Huber (right) were killed and Gaige Grosskreutz was shot in the arm in a series of encounters that were captured on cellphone videos
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