By John Friend
A 17-year-old man from Antioch, Ill. has been charged with multiple felonies for defending himself from a phalanx of marauding, violent leftists in Kenosha, Wisc. on the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 25, killing two and injuring one in arguably one of the most clear-cut examples of self-defense ever presented to authorities.
Kenosha, a small city between Chicago and Milwaukee on Lake Michigan, has been the scene of violent left-wing riots, looting, and destruction following the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man with a checkered past, by a Kenosha police officer on Aug. 23, leaving the city and many of its businesses in ruins. Blake, who had an outstanding warrant out for his arrest relating to felony sexual assault, is currently recovering in a hospital in Milwaukee, and he and his family are being represented by Benjamin Crump, who also served as legal counsel for Trayvon Martin and George Floyd in those racially charged, high-profile cases.
The shooting of Blake remains under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Criminal Investigation Division, which has thus far released few details of the incident aside from noting that officers were unable to restrain and arrest Blake after using a taser on the man. Video shows he refused to cooperate with officers. The Wisconsin DOJ has also noted that Blake admitted to having a knife in his possession. The Kenosha police union has attempted to provide more details of the event, saying that Blake not only had a knife but fought and struggled with officers who were attempting to apprehend him, including putting one officer in a headlock during the violent encounter. This portion of the encounter has not been shown in videos on mainstream television, for whatever reason. According to Brendan Matthews, an attorney for the Kenosha Professional Police Association, officers were originally dispatched to the scene because they received a complaint from an ex-girlfriend of Blake who stated that he was attempting to steal her keys and car.
Rittenhouse, who worked as a community lifeguard in Kenosha, a 30-minute drive from his hometown of Antioch, Ill., just across the Illinois-Wisconsin border, has found himself in the national spotlight following the chaotic events early last week. The mass media has attempted to demonize Rittenhouse, a strong supporter of law enforcement officers, as a violent vigilante, yet video-graphic evidence and eyewitness testimony demonstrate that he acted in self-defense that fateful evening. Indeed, in an interview with Richie McGinniss of the “Daily Caller” prior to the shooting, Rittenhouse explains that his entire purpose of being in town that evening was to help protect local businesses and people and that he is a trained medic.
“If there is somebody hurt, I’m running into harm’s way,” Rittenhouse tells McGinniss in a brief video interview. “That’s why I have my rifle, because I have to protect myself, obviously. I also have my medical kit.”
According to Rittenhouse’s private attorney, after finishing his lifeguard shift in Kenosha that day, Rittenhouse wanted to help clean up the community, racked in previous days by looting and destruction, and proceeded to the local high school to help remove graffiti from the building. Rittenhouse and a friend were later notified that the owner of a local car dealership needed assistance protecting his property from rioters and looters, who had already largely destroyed the dealership in the previous night’s riots. Rittenhouse and his accomplice armed themselves with rifles to protect themselves from the violent rioters who had caused mayhem in the community. According to Rittenhouse’s attorney, the weapons were in Wisconsin and never crossed state lines, a key point of contention.
Later that evening, well past the 8 p.m. curfew imposed by local authorities, Rittenhouse was “accosted by multiple rioters who recognized that he had been attempting to protect a business the mob wanted to destroy,” according to Rittenhouse’s attorneys. “This outraged the rioters and created a mob now determined to hurt Kyle. They began chasing him down. Kyle attempted to get away, but he could not do so quickly enough. Upon the sound of a gunshot behind him, Kyle turned and was immediately faced with an attacker lunging towards him and [trying to grab] his rifle. He reacted instantaneously and justifiably with his weapon to protect himself, firing and striking the attacker.”
Rittenhouse stopped and attempted to provide first aid to his wounded pursuer, later identified as Joseph Rosenbaum, a 36-year-old who eventually died of his wounds, but a mob soon confronted him, and he fled once again. The criminal complaint filed against Rittenhouse outlining the serious criminal charges against him notes that Rosenbaum “throws an object” at Rittenhouse while pursuing him.
While fleeing the mob after the initial shooting involving Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse fell to the ground in the middle of the street, and violent rioters attacked him, including one who was armed with a pistol. One viciously kicked him while he was on the ground, while another hit him over the head with a skateboard, and attempts were made to rip his rifle from his hands.
“In fear for his life and concerned the crowd would either continue to shoot at him or even use his own weapon against him, Kyle had no choice but to fire multiple rounds towards his immediate attackers, striking two, including one armed attacker,” Rittenhouse’s lawyers stated. Anthony Huber, a 26-year-old male, was struck in the chest during this altercation, killing him, while a second man, Gaige Grosskreutz, also 26 years old, was shot in the arm. In video footage of the encounter, Grosskreutz is holding a pistol.
Following the shooting, which dispersed the crowd pursuing him, Rittenhouse proceeded down the street toward law enforcement officers with his hands in the air and attempted to make contact. He was not taken into custody at the time, and later turned himself in to authorities in his hometown of Antioch.
Rittenhouse has since been charged with multiple felonies in Kenosha County and is currently in custody in Lake County, Ill. where he is awaiting an extradition hearing currently scheduled for September 25 to potentially be transferred to Wisconsin to face charges. He has been charged with First Degree Reckless Homicide, two counts of First Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety, First Degree Intentional Homicide, Attempted First Degree Intentional Homicide, and Possession of a Dangerous Weapon by a Person Under 18.
Interestingly, in the criminal complaint filed against Rittenhouse in Kenosha County, it is admitted that Rosenbaum, the first man to have been shot by Rittenhouse, was the aggressor who attempted to “engage” Rittenhouse and that Rittenhouse was attempting to evade him as well as other hostile individuals pursuing Rittenhouse. In the course of the initial pursuit, Rosenbaum was not only aggressively pursuing Rittenhouse, but also “was trying to get the defendant [Rittenhouse’s] gun.”
Additionally, the criminal complaint also notes that following the initial encounter with Rosenbaum, “several people begin running” toward Rittenhouse yelling, “Beat him up!” and “Get him! Get that dude!” While Rittenhouse is fleeing the hostile crowd, he trips and falls in the street. Huber, who was also killed by Rittenhouse, then “approaches the defendant, who is still on the ground, on his back,” with a skateboard. The complaint states that Huber swings the skateboard at Rittenhouse and that he attempts “to pull the gun away from the defendant.” Rittenhouse fires one shot, fatally striking Huber in the chest.
Grosskreutz was right behind Huber in pursuit of Rittenhouse. Following the shooting of Huber, Grosskreutz momentarily freezes and puts his hands in the air before again aggressively pursuing Rittenhouse, who is still on the ground. Rittenhouse then fires one shot, striking Grosskreutz in the right arm. “Grosskreutz appears to be holding a handgun in his right hand when he was shot,” the complaint notes, demonstrating the evident, dangerous hostility those pursuing Rittenhouse had throughout the entire encounter.
Rittenhouse has contracted the law firm Pierce Bainbridge to assist his legal defense, and is also being assisted by L. Lin Wood, an attorney who represented Nicholas Sandmann, the young high-school student similarly smeared by the mass media as Rittenhouse is today.
“A 17-year-old child should not have to take up arms in America to protect life and property. That is the job of state and local governments,” John Pierce, the founder of Pierce Bainbridge, stated following Rittenhouse’s arrest. “However, those governments have failed, and law-abiding citizens have no choice but to protect their own communities as their forefathers did at Lexington and Concord in 1775. Kyle is not a racist or a white supremacist. He is a brave, patriotic, compassionate law-abiding American who loves his country and his community. He did nothing wrong. He defended himself, which is a fundamental right of all Americans given by God and protected by law. He is now in the crosshairs of institutional forces that are much more powerful than him. But he will stand up to them and fight not only for himself, but for all Americans and their beloved Constitution. We will never leave his side until he is victorious in that fight.”
To support the legal defense of Rittenhouse, please visit FightBack4Freedom.com for more information.
Note: The three men shot by Rittenhouse were not the angels as portrayed by the leftist media, according to “Wisconsin Right Now.” Rosenbaum at one time was a registered sex offender who was out on bond for a domestic abuse battery accusation and was caught on video acting aggressively earlier that night. Anthony Huber was a felon convicted in a strangulation case who was recently accused of domestic abuse. Gaige Grosskreutz was convicted of a crime for use of a firearm while intoxicated and was armed with a handgun when shot.
