(Washington) The student who killed two people on the sidelines of anti-racist protests in the United States in August 2020 cannot plead self-defense because he himself “created the danger”, assured Monday the accusation in its indictment.
In a theatrical gesture, District Attorney Thomas Binger seized the semi-automatic AR-15 rifle that Kyle Rittenhouse, then 17, was carrying on the night of the drama, on the streets of Kenosha, a northern town rocked by riots after a police blunder.
Holding the assembly in play, the prosecutor noticed that the first person killed by the high school student “did not take well the fact of seeing him point a weapon” at the crowd, which explains why he launched to the pursuit of the young man.
“It’s no wonder, no one likes it,” added the prosecutor.
PHOTO SEAN KRAJACIC, REUTERS
Kyle Rittenhouse during this morning’s hearing at the Kenosha County Courthouse, Wisconsin.
When deciding on the verdict, “keep in mind that the accused caused the incident” because, according to the law in the state of Wisconsin, “you cannot claim self-defense against a danger that you create, ”said M again.e Binger.
On August 23, 2020, as the United States was crossed by giant protests against racism and police violence, Kenosha burst into flames, because white police seriously injured a young black man, Jacob Blake, by shooting him in the back.
During the third night of riots, Kyle Rittenhouse joined armed men who had come to “protect” businesses against rioters. Under confused circumstances, he opened fire, killing two and injuring one.
Accused of murder, he pleaded not guilty, claiming to have “just defended”. “I just wanted to stop the people who attacked me,” he said in tears on the witness stand.
The prosecutor, however, called on the jurors to question his “real motives”. “He said he wanted to protect a business he had never heard of before,” said Binger. “Do you think he really wanted to help? ”
For him, Kyle Rittenhouse “was looking for excitement”, “he knew there would be violence that night,” he said again.
Defense lawyers are expected to speak immediately, and jurors will then step aside to deliberate.
Their verdict will be closely scrutinized, as the issue has become political.
Kyle Rittenhouse has indeed become a muse in certain right-wing circles for whom the great mobilization against police violence in the summer of 2020 was the work of “antifas” or “anarchists”.
Conversely, on the left, he embodies the excesses of the culture of arms and the right to self-defense.