Sunday, November 22, 2020
Kyle Rittenhouse, the suspect in a shooting of protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States that left two people dead, was released from a Wisconsin jail Friday after his lawyers posted US$2 million bond.
His lawyers had reportedly set up a drive to collect donations for the defendant. His sister made public requests for assistance in raising funds for her brother’s bail. Shortly after Rittenhouse’s release, one of his lawyers posted a photo to Twitter showing him and actor Ricky Schroder standing next to each other and smiling.
A resident of Antioch, Illinois, Rittenhouse is accused of crossing state lines and shooting and killing two people who were participating in demonstrations protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake. One other person was injured in the altercation. Rittenhouse’s charges include intentional homicide and illegally possessing a firearm. If convicted, Rittenhouse could receive up to a lifetime prison sentence.
Rittenhouse was not old enough to own or possess a firearm in the state of Illinois at the time of the incident. He claimed to have obtained his weapon by having an older friend purchase it on his behalf using stimulus money Rittenhouse received from the state during the coronavirus lockdown. A suspect in Wisconsin has been charged for allegedly providing the weapon to Rittenhouse.
Rittenhouse turned himself in to authorities on the morning following the shooting, and his lawyers have claimed the defendant acted in self defense. Court Commissioner Loren Keating said he considered Rittenhouse a flight risk, prior to setting the US$2 million bond. Rittenhouse, in remarks to The Washington Post, contended he would have died had he not been armed that night. Some conservative groups have come to Rittenhouse’s defense regarding the incident.