The judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial has dismissed one of the six charges against Rittenhouse, ruling that he should not face a count of illegal possession of a firearm.
Rittenhouse shot three men — killing two of them and injuring the third — during an uprising against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year. He is being charged with murder along with a number of additional charges, including the violation of a state statute barring people under the age of 18 from possessing a dangerous weapon.
Rittenhouse, who is now 18, was 17 at the time of the shootings. On the evening of August 25, 2020, he traveled from his home in Antioch, Illinois to the protests in Kenosha, carrying a military-style weapon across state lines. Wisconsin law states that minors cannot possess deadly weapons unless they are hunting wildlife.
Judge Bruce Schroeder, who is presiding over the trial, has decided to dismiss the misdemeanor weapons charge, justifying this move by saying that he has a “big problem” with the way the statute was written. This comment suggests that his dismissal of the charge is based on personal opinion, rather than any legitimate legal reasoning.
Schroeder’s decision to remove the charge took place shortly before closing arguments.
The judge said that he would have considered leaving the charge in place if the rifle Rittenhouse used in the shootings had a longer barrel length. However, Wisconsin law does not define what constitutes a “dangerous weapon” based on the length of a rifle.
The weapon Rittenhouse used to shoot the three men was obtained in what many would consider a “straw purchase” arms sale. Dominick Black, a friend of Rittenhouse who was 18 at the time, testified earlier in the trial that Rittenhouse paid him to buy the rifle from a hardware store in Wisconsin back in May 2020. The gun was stored at Black’s family residence, where his dad eventually moved the rifle from the garage, where it was originally stored, into the house.
On the day of the shootings, Rittenhouse took the rifle from the Black home without asking for permission, The New York Times reported.
Judge Schroeder has revealed his personal biases numerous times throughout the trial. Last week, for example, he made a racist joke about Asians ahead of a lunchtime recess, saying he hoped that “Asian food isn’t coming” from “one of those long boats from Long Beach Harbor.”
Late last month, Schroeder barred prosecutors from using the word “victim” to describe the individuals Rittenhouse shot, describing it as a “loaded” word. But Schroeder said he’d allow the defense to describe Rittenhouse’s victims as “looters,” “arsonists” and “rioters” — despite no evidence that any of them had engaged in any criminal activity before being injured or killed.
Shroeder also refused to hear evidence surrounding Rittenhouse’s connection to the Proud Boys, a far right white supremacist group known for instigating violence at protests. Shortly after posting bail, Rittenhouse posed for photographs with the group’s members at a bar, where he flashed a “white power” hand symbol at the camera.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $110,000 in one-time donations and to add 1350 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy