Silke Jasso
Prosecutors in Wisconsin have asked a judge to order an Illinois teenager charged with killing two people and wounding a third during a protest following a police shooting, to stay out of bars and away from white supremacist groups. Prosecutors stated that Kyle Rittenhouse made a hand gesture adopted by white supremacist groups while he was out drinking. The request comes a week after 18-year-old Rittenhouse was drinking at a Wisconsin bar in the southwestern city of Mount Pleasant, 25 miles south of Milwaukee.
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He had previously pleaded not guilty to homicide and other charges that resulted from the August 25, 2020 shooting in Kenosha. The city saw several nights of chaotic protest after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake, who is African-American, in the back seven times partially paralyzing him. Kyle Rittenhouse’s bond was set at $2 million. After his arrangement that took place on January 5th, Rittenhouse, his mother, and several other adults went to Pudgy’s Pub where he was seen drinking beer.
Kyle Rittenhouse Caught Making White Power Signs
Although the drinking age is 21, Rittenhouse can legally drink alcohol in Wisconsin due to his mother being with him. The prosecutor’s motion states that the teenager posed outside the bar for a photo with two white men as they all gestured an ‘ok sign’ with their hands. The sign has been known to be a symbol and white power sign used by white supremacists.
The Kenosha County prosecutors noted that there are also five men at the tavern who serenaded Rittenhouse with the song Proud of Your Boy, which has become the Proud Boys anthem. Proud Boys is a white supremacist group whose members have identified as being involved in the attack by President Donald Trump supporters and rioters on the US Capitol that took place on January 6th, 2021.
Kyle Rittenhouse Becomes ‘Poster Boy’ for Armed Self-Defense
The motion reads, “The defendant’s continued association with members of a group that prides itself on violence, and the use of their symbols, raises the significant possibility of future harm. Further, this association may serve to intimidate potential witnesses.” A hearing on the prosecutor’s request has not yet been scheduled. Rittenhouse defense lawyer Mark Richards stated that the teenager, of Antioch, Illinois, was acting in self-defense when he killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, with an assault-style rifle.
Rittenhouse then told police that he was guarding a private business during the night of the protest. The chaos in Kenosha County happened after officer Rusten Sheskey shot Blake on August 23, 2020, while he was responding to a domestic disturbance. Hundreds of people were arrested and multiple businesses were destroyed. The Wisconsin prosecutor on January 5th declined to file any charges against Sheskey, concluding that he didn’t disprove the officer’s contention that he had acted in self-defense.
