Kyle Rittenhouse found not guilty of all counts in Kenosha shooting

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted of all charges after pleading self-defense in the deadly Kenosha, Wisconsin, shootings that became a flashpoint in the nation’s debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice.

WATCH LIVE: Jury deliberations continue in trial of Kyle Rittenhouse for Kenosha shooting – Day 14

The jury came back with its verdict after close to 3 1/2 days of deliberation.

Rittenhouse, 18, could have gotten life in prison if found guilty of the most serious charge against him.

He was charged with homicide, attempted homicide and recklessly endangering safety for killing two men and wounding a third with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle.

The shootings took place during a night of protests over police violence against Black people in the tumultuous summer of 2020. Rittenhouse is white, as were those he shot. The jury appeared to be overwhelmingly white.

Jurors listened to two weeks of dueling portrayals of Rittenhouse. Prosecutors say he was a “wannabe soldier” who brought a semi-automatic rifle to a racial justice protest and instigated the bloodshed. The defense says he acted in self-defense.

Rittenhouse was a 17-year-old former police youth cadet when he went to Kenosha in what he said was an effort to protect property after rioters set fires and ransacked businesses on previous nights.

He shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, now 28. Rittenhouse is white, as were those he shot.
The case has exposed deep divides among Americans over guns, racial injustice, vigilantism and self-defense in the U.S.

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Forliti reported from Minneapolis, Bauer from Madison, Wisconsin. Associated Press writers Tammy Webber in Fenton, Michigan, and Todd Richmond in Madison contributed to this story.