Illinois teen pleads not guilty to Kenosha protest murders

MADISON, Delete. (AP) – An Illinois teenager who shot two people and injured a third amid sometimes violent summer protests on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, pleaded not guilty to charges including willful murder on Tuesday.

Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, made his plea during a brief hearing held by conference call that took place as Kenosha braced Tuesday afternoon for an impeachment decision in case Rittenhouse was brought to town in August – the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Prosecutors say Rittenhouse, who is white, left his home in Antioch, Illinois, and traveled to Kenosha after hearing of a call to protect businesses after Blake, a black man, was shot in the back seven times on August 23 and paralyzed stayed behind.

Rittenhouse opened fire with an assault rifle during protests two nights later, killing Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz. Rittenhouse has argued that he fired in self-defense. Conservatives have rallied around Rittenhouse, describing him as a patriot who took up arms to protect people and property, raising enough money to earn his $ 2 million cash bail.

Others see him as a domestic terrorist whose presence aroused protesters with a gun.

The shooting of Blake took place three months after George Floyd died while being restrained by police officers in Minneapolis, which was also captured on video by bystanders and sparked outrage and protests that spread across the United States and beyond. The galvanized Black Lives Matter movement put the spotlight on dishonest police action and became a political rift, with President Donald Trump criticizing protesters and aggressively pushing a law-and-order message he was trying to cash in on Wisconsin and other swing states .

In Kenosha, when the protests that followed damaged businesses in the city of 100,000 near the Wisconsin-Illinois border – authorities ultimately estimate about $ 50 million in damage – some people answered a social media call to travel to Kenosha.

Conservatives have joined Rittenhouse’s legal defense, arguing that he was a patriot who took up arms to protect people and property. Rittenhouse, who is white, was 17 years old at the time of the shooting and is accused, among other things, of illegal possession of a dangerous weapon by someone under 18.

A preliminary conference for Rittenhouse was scheduled for March 10, with a trial date of March 29, although his attorney Mark Richards said he would try to postpone it to get more time to prepare.

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley has not publicly disclosed the timing of a decision on whether or not to indict Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey. But the city has begun to move in recent days to prepare for the event, with some businesses boarding their windows and concrete barricades and oversized metal fences around the Kenosha County courthouse. Fearing a repeat of the protests in August, the Kenosha Common Council unanimously approved an emergency resolution on Monday evening that takes effect with the announcement and allows the mayor to impose a curfew.

Meanwhile, Governor Tony Evers activated 500 National Guard troops to assist Kenosha authorities when the decision is announced.

“Our National Guard members will be on hand to support local first responders, ensure Kenoshans can gather safely and protect critical infrastructure where necessary,” Evers said in a statement.

Blake’s father led a march through town on Monday night, calling on people to ‘make noise’ and ‘be heard all over the world’.

“(Sheskey) tried to kill my son and could have killed my grandchildren,” said Jacob Blake Sr. during a press conference for the march. “He falsely shot him in the back seven times.”

The family said it has taken too long for a decision on charging to be made, and precautions suggest Sheskey will not be charged.

“What is the National Guard for?” Jacob Blake Sr. said .. ‘Are they going to deliver mail? Deliver ice cream? What do you think they are here for? “

Tanya McLean, executive director of the Leaders of Kenosha community organization and a friend of the Blake family, said when Monday night’s march began that violence is not acceptable.

“Whatever the decision, we strive for nonviolence,” she said. “We want everyone to come out and make as much noise as you want, but we don’t want property or businesses to be destroyed. We are for nonviolence. Everything else is not acceptable to this community. “