Kyle Rittenhouse’s court case is underway and we are seeing some major shifts in the narrative as the various witnesses take the stand.
For those unaware, Kyle Rittenhouse is a young man who was forced to defend his own life during the Kenosha riots in 2020. Rittenhouse shot and killed two men, and left another wounded after he was attacked at these riots. The prosecution is alleging that Kyle Rittenhouse showed up to this riot looking for trouble and had he not been there no situation like this would have arisen.
One witness, Richie McGinniss, who took the stand today testified that one of the men who was shot was screaming and threatening to kill Kyle Rittenhouse. This witness also testified that the same man had been aggressive and even lunged at Rittenhouse in an effort to get his rifle. McGinniss is a reporter for The Daily Caller and was there that night to report on the event.
It is important to note that Richie McGinniss was the prosecutor’s witness. The prosecutor attempted to overturn his own witness’ testimony by asking if McGinniss’ comments on the man’s apparent reaching for the gun was “complete guesswork.” McGinniss replied to the prosecutor saying that the man “said, `F**k you.’ And then he reached for the weapon.”
Ryan Balch, an Army infantryman who was also at the events in Kenosha with an AR-15, is another witness who gave some compelling testimony. Balch said that the man Rittenhouse had shot was “hyperaggressive and acting out a violent manner.” This witness would also testify that the man was throwing rocks and setting fires before his encounter with Kyle Rittenhouse.
The shooting in Kenosha that left two dead and one wounded was hectic and was an act of self-defense to be sure. Numerous people have been killed at riots and the same type of protesters, Antifa, who were responsible for those killing and additional maimings were at this event. It was perfectly reasonable for Kyle Rittenhouse to bring his rifle to this event for the purposes of self-defense.
We now know that Kyle Rittenhouse was threatened and chased down prior to his shooting of the men. Note that this was something that was already well-publicized at the time of the event but the witness testimony now makes that official, not just something the public got to see through multiple videos and photos.
Another man who was shot by Rittenhouse in the same short span of time as the first one was wielding a handgun. This is important to note because the defense is arguing that Rittenhouse shot these three men in an act of self-defense. Kyle Rittenhouse is the man that pulled the trigger and killed these two men and wounded a third, no one is debating otherwise. This is a case about whether or not Kyle Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense or not.
Another interesting thing that happened in the trial was the dismissal of a juror by the judge. One of the jurors in the trial had cracked a joke about the police shooting of Jacob Blake, the incident that triggered the Kenosha riots where the events being debated in this trial happened. The joke was reportedly off-color and was made in front of a court security officer. The juror, who was dismissed, declined to repeat his joke in front of the judge.
This trial has had some serious twists and turns in recent days. We will keep you posted on this trial as it continues.
