Accused Kenosha Killer Kyle Rittenhouse Out of Jail After Posting $2 Million
Bail
By Nelson Oliveira, New York Daily News
21 November 20
The teenage gunman charged with killing two Black Lives Matter protesters in
Wisconsin this summer walked out of jail Friday afternoon after posting $2
million bail.
Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was released from custody around 2 p.m. and handed
over to his own security detail after his attorneys posted bond on his
behalf, according to the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department.
Supporters have been donating money for his bail, and a lawyer Friday said
cash from former "Silver Spoons" and "NYPD Blue" actor Ricky Schroeder and
My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell helped spring Rittenhouse.
"KYLE RITTENHOUSE IS OUT OF JAIL." attorney Lin Wood tweeted. "God bless ALL
who donated to help #FightBack raise required $2M cash bail. Special thanks
to Actor Ricky Schroder ... & Mike Lindell ... for putting us over the top."
The Illinois teen faces a series of felony charges, including intentional
homicide and reckless endangerment, in the shooting of three men during a
chaotic protest on Aug. 25. Two of the victims, Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony
Huber, died that same night.
The civil unrest in the southern Wisconsin city of Kenosha was sparked by
the police shooting of unarmed Black man Jacob Blake, who was shot in the
back seven times just days earlier.
Rittenhouse, who claims he fired his assault-style rifle in self-defense,
tried fighting extradition from Illinois for two months before being
transferred to the Kenosha County jail three weeks ago.
The case has turned into a rallying cry for gun-rights activists and
far-right politicians who see the accused killer as a hero exercising his
Second Amendment right to bear arms. His supporters launched a legal-defense
fund.
Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement, meanwhile, have described the
teen as a domestic terrorist and white supremacist whose armed presence in a
racial justice demonstration helped fuel more violence in the streets.
Cellphone videos from the scene appear to show Rittenhouse opening fire
during a confrontation with protesters over his weapon. He claims he was in
Kenosha that night to help protect the city from looters and only fired his
gun in self-defense.
The aspiring medic told The Washington Post in a jailhouse interview this
week that he planned to guard a local business and offer medical care to
anyone who was injured.
"I was going into a place where people had guns and God forbid somebody
brought a gun to me and decided to shoot me ... I wanted to be protected,
which I ended up having to protect myself," he told the paper.
Rittenhouse also admitted that he paid for Smith & Wesson rifle with money
he got from a taxpayer-funded coronavirus stimulus program. An adult friend
who's also facing charges in the case is accused of buying the weapon on the
teen's behalf because Wisconsin state law prohibits minors from possessing
or carrying a firearm unless they are hunting.
