Rittenhouse Might Be Forced to Move from His Home Town
Mark Richards, one of the attorneys who represented Kyle Rittenhouse in his self-defense case, signaled that the teen will likely move out of the Kenosha, Wisconsin, area after he was found not guilty of murder on Friday.
Rittenhouse lived with his mother in Antioch, Illinois, which is just a short drive south of Kenosha. The teen worked in and partially grew up in Kenosha, with multiple members of his family living in that city, where he has deep roots.
Due to safety concerns after he was found not guilty, Richards to reporters in a post-verdict news conference he does not envision Rittenhouse staying in the area due to death threats.
“He has to get on with his life, the best he can,” said Richards. “I think eventually some anonymity will come back to it.”
“I don’t think he’ll continue to live in this area. I think it’s too dangerous,” added the attorney.
Richards said the teen has been protected by 24-hour security since the shootings that saw him charged by prosecutors. Richard added he is thankful the teen’s address was kept private by Judge Bruce Schroeder.
The attorney also said he was shocked by how many death threats he and people associated with the case received amid intense pressure from outside of the courtroom to convict Rittenhouse of first-degree intentional homicide and other charges.
“Everybody in this case — and when I say that, I mean prosecution and defense — to me, it’s scary how many death threats we’ve gotten,” Richards said.
The attorney said his own personal phone number was even compromised.
“After the third death threat, I quit answering the phone,” he said.
Richards maintained that Rittenhouse had as much right to be in Kenosha on the evening of Aug. 25, 2020, as anyone else after he was asked a question about it by a reporter.
Richards added that, while Rittenhouse does not regret taking actions to defend his life, if he could do it all over again, he probably would have stayed home on the evening of the deadly shootings that will forever make him a household name.
Rittenhouse shot and killed a man named Joseph Rosenbaum after his weapon failed to deter the man from chasing him through a parking lot.
Moments later, after the teen was accosted by a mob of rioters and demonstrators, he was knocked to the ground. He fired shots at the man who attempted to kick him, but missed.
When a man named Anthony Huber struck him over the head with a skateboard, Rittenhouse again fired a shot. That shot proved fatal for Huber.
The final person shot during the terrifying encounter was a man named Gaige Grosskreutz.
Grosskreutz drew a pistol on the teen as he lay on the ground. When Grosskreutz lowered his gun, Rittenhouse fired. A single shot from his rifle struck Grosskreutz’ right arm. As a witness for the prosecution, the man admitted he was pointing his gun at Rittenhouse when he was shot.
Richards said that following the shootings, his arrest and eventually a trial that saw his character put into question in front of the world, the teen still wants to become a nurse.
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