Lawyer of Accused Kenosha Shooter Breaks Down Kyle Rittenhouse’s Case for Self Defense
Richard Moorhead
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The lawyer of Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year old involved in a shooting incident with left-wing rioters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, broke down his client’s argument of self-defense, explaining new details of the incident in which two rioters were shot and killed. Rittenhouse has been charged with first-degree murder for the shooting of three rioters in Kenosha earlier this week, two of whom survived.
John Pierce, Rittenhouse’s attorney, is calling the charges political prosecution on the part of the state of Wisconsin.
“This was not a serious investigation,” Pierce said in a statement released Friday. “Rather, after learning Kyle may have had conservative political viewpoints, they immediately saw him as a convenient target who they could use as a scapegoat to distract from the Jacob Blake shooting and the government’s abject failure to ensure basic law and order to citizens.”
Pierce described Rittenhouse’s account of events. First, the 17-year old Illinois native was present at an auto body in Kenosha with a group of armed citizens, seeking to prevent looting, property, and destruction of the community the rioters had engaged in on previous nights. A mob of rioters arrived and insulted the armed group.
Later, Rittenhouse was administering medical aid to rioters and citizens injured in the night’s events, when he was recognized the group of rioters who had arrived at the auto body shop earlier. Rittenhouse is recounting being aggressively attacked by the group of rioters, including Jacob Rosenbaum, whom he shot in self defense.
The latest court documents also reveal that an unknown gunman began firing shots before Rittenhouse did.
Rittenhouse then attempted to flee, only to be pursued by a group of rioters. He tripped and fell on the street, and as a group of leftist rioters- one of whom was armed with a pistol- came upon him- he shot two more men. One died.
“Another attacker struck Kyle from behind as he fled down the street,” Pierce’s statement said. “Kyle turned as the mob pressed in on him and he fell to the ground. One attacker kicked Kyle on the ground while he was on the ground. Yet another bashed him over the head with a skateboard.”
The man who was shot and survived reportedly went on to claim that he wished he had killed Rittenhouse immediately, raising serious questions about his claims to be the victim of aggression on the part of the 17-year old teen.
“Several rioters tried to disarm Kyle. In fear for his life and concerned the crowd would either continue to shoot at him or even use his own weapon against him, Kyle had no choice but to fire multiple rounds towards his immediate attackers, striking two, including one, armed attacker,” the attorney’s statement continued. “The rest of the mob began to disperse upon hearing the additional gunshots.”
Both of the men who were shot and killed in the incident were convicted felons, and Rosenbaum had spent more than a decade in prison in Arizona for a sex crime against a minor.
Rittenhouse’s argument of self defense is indeed pressing, and Kenosha might face the prospect of renewed left-wing violent riots should authorities be forced to drop charges against the young man.
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