Nathan Layne

KENOSHA (Wis.) – Kyle Rittenhouse, a Wisconsin teenager, was convicted Monday of a misdemeanor in his murder trial. He had illegally owned an AR-15-style rifle that he used for shooting three people and killing two others. Rittenhouse claims it was in self-defense.

Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed the charges, stating that the law regarding possession is unclear. Rittenhouse, who was 17, was at the time Rittenhouse shot the shots.

Defense and the prosecution had to make closing remarks later Monday at Rittenhouse’s trial. These speeches offered the jury many different perspectives on why Rittenhouse fired during protests last year against the shooting by police of a Black male.

After almost two weeks of testimony in which Rittenhouse presented substantial evidence to support his argument that Rittenhouse was attacked before firing his firearm, Rittenhouse now has the final chance to convince a jury. Rittenhouse killed two and wounded another.

In the case of Trayvon Martin, a unarmed Black teenager who was fatally shot by George Zimmerman in 2013, the jury will begin to deliberate and try to come to a verdict on guilt or innocence.

Rittenhouse like Zimmerman is seen as divisive. Rittenhouse was viewed as heroic and a symbol for an American culture of gun violence by those on the left, as well as conservatives who support expansive gun rights.

Rittenhouse (age 18) was charged with the murders of Joseph Rosenbaum (36) and Anthony Huber (26) and with injuring Gaige Grosskreutz (27) at Kenosha’s City Hall on August 25, 2020. These shootings occurred during demonstrations that were marred by rioting, arson and looting. They took place after Jacob Blake was shot dead in the back.