Kyle Rittenhouse, accused of fatally shooting 2 people at Wisconsin protest, posts $2M bail
Legal defence fund for Illinois teen has attracted millions of dollars in donations
A 17-year-old from Illinois who is charged with killing two people during a protest in Wisconsin and whose case has become a rallying cry for some conservatives posted $2 million US bail Friday and was released from custody.
Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz during a demonstration on Aug. 25 that followed the police shooting of a Black man named Jacob Blake in Kenosha. He posted bond through his attorney at about 2 p.m., Kenosha County Sheriff's Sgt. David Wright said.
Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Ill., told police he was attacked while he was guarding a business and that he fired in self-defence.
He faces multiple charges, including intentional homicide, reckless endangerment and being a minor in possession of a firearm. Wisconsin law doesn't permit minors to carry or possess a gun unless they're hunting. He is due back in court on Dec. 3 for a preliminary hearing.
His case has taken on political overtones. Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement have painted Rittenhouse as a trigger-happy white supremacist. Conservatives upset over property destruction during recent protests have portrayed him as a patriot exercising his right to bear arms during unrest.
WATCH | Rittenhouse becomes poster boy for armed self-defence:
A legal defence fund for him has attracted millions of dollars in donations, and his mother got a standing ovation from women at a Waukesha County GOP function in September.
Huber's father, John Huber, asked Kenosha County Circuit Court Commissioner Loren Keating during a hearing Nov. 2 to set Rittenhouse's bail between $4 million and $10 million US.
Huber said at the time that Rittenhouse thinks he's above the law and noted the effort to raise money on his behalf. He also suggested militia groups would hide him from police if he were released.
Rittenhouse's attorney, Mark Richards, asked for bail to be set at $750,000 US.
Keating ultimately set bail at $2 million US, saying Rittenhouse was a flight risk given the seriousness of the charges against him.